https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.70.250.231&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T15:23:26ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2656:_Scientific_Field_Prefixes&diff=2923882656: Scientific Field Prefixes2022-08-09T15:00:53Z<p>172.70.250.231: /* List of Scientific fields */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2656<br />
| date = August 8, 2022<br />
| title = Scientific Field Prefixes<br />
| image = scientific_field_prefixes.png<br />
| titletext = Massage: Theoretical (10), Quantum (6), High-energy (2), Computational (1), Marine (1), Astro- (None)<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Quantum Dentist - Fill in this [[#Table with explanations|table with explanations]]. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
{{w|Google Scholar}} is a search engine for academic publications, and [[Randall]] has been having fun with it.<br />
<br />
Randall searches for various terms that are composed of some common prefixes and common suffixes, but not always commonly associated with each other in each possible combination, and tabulates the results. See this [[#Table with numbers|table with numbers]] for easy overview.<br />
<br />
This reveals some very commonly used full terms like "{{w|Theoretical Physics}}", the most discovered, which represents almost four million hits compared to the next highest, "{{w|Computational Biology}}", with almost 3 million hits and {{w|Astrophysics}} with 2 million hits. Ducking just below 1 million hits is fourth placing {{w|Marine Biology}}. Of the 42 possible fields just 14 have more than 100,000 hits, and only four more have over 10,000.<br />
<br />
But there are also some that have much lower numbers, eight with less than 10 hits in the table. "High-Energy Psychology" and "Marine Dentistry" have just one apparent occurrence each (equivalent to a {{w|Googlewhack}}), whilst there are no hits at all recorded for four of the initially combined terms. In total (with the title text) there are 48 fields, see a full [[#List of Scientific fields|list of scientific fields]] below.<br />
<br />
An explanation for both existing and fictive scientific fields can be given below in the [[#Table with explanations|table with explanations]].<br />
<br />
In the caption to the table Randall list four potential research opportunities i.e. those with no hits in the table: Quantum Dentistry, High-Energy Dentistry, Astrodentistry, and High-Energy Theology<br />
<br />
He thus suggests that, because of the (apparent) lack of current studies in these specialized sub-fields, there may be unexplored potential for a study. This could be that the more "used" areas have far too much competition and be might already be "used up" for potentially useful discoveries. (This does not account for how much 'study space' might be available in a given box of research, even though Randall has previously hinted that anything "Astro"-related is potentially [[2640: The Universe by Scientific Field|full of many things to study]].)<br />
Of course the real reason for no one studying these fields are that they make no sense. {{w|Dentistry}} is related to fixing peoples teeth. The quantum world has no effect on humans teeth, and high-energy inside a humans mouth may also be a bit dangerous (although x-rays and radiation treatment in the mouth could be seen as high energy.) Astrodentistry is not really relevant if seeing this as something used on humans. Of course astronauts might need dentistry while in space, but it would be a stretch to call the study of dentistry in zero-G for astrodentistry. High-energy Theology seems more like someone could have used the word...<br />
<br />
In the title text Randall lists the figures for another 'major' field suffix, i.e. {{w|Massage}}<!-- not an error in retaining capitalization, but do change if you disagree -->, and the numbers of its prefixed forms. From this, we learn that Astromassage is another 'open' field that is currently unstudied, but none of the five others have more than 10. Actually the most surprising aspect of the title text is that there are hits for both quantum massage and high-energy massage... Massage has been added to the tables below and the list of fields.<br />
<br />
===Table with numbers===<br />
*Here the table is presented with only numbers, so it can be sorted.<br />
**Massage from the title text has been added.<br />
{|class="wikitable sortable"<br />
!<br />
! Physics<br />
! Chemistry<br />
! Biology<br />
! Engineering<br />
! Psychology<br />
! Theology<br />
! Dentistry<br />
! Massage<br />
|-<br />
| Theoretical <br />
| 3990000<br />
| 445000<br />
| 553000<br />
| 2460<br />
| 15500<br />
| 726<br />
| 41<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| Quantum <br />
| 478000<br />
| 740000<br />
| 7620<br />
| 21100<br />
| 699<br />
| 447<br />
| 0<br />
| 6<br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy<br />
| 844000<br />
| 9600<br />
| 3<br />
| 119<br />
| 1<br />
| 0<br />
| 0<br />
| 2<br />
|-<br />
| Computational <br />
| 510000<br />
| 599000<br />
| 2910000<br />
| 67400<br />
| 4620<br />
| 40<br />
| 11<br />
| 1<br />
|-<br />
| Marine <br />
| 3920<br />
| 136000<br />
| 945000<br />
| 108000<br />
| 35<br />
| 6<br />
| 1<br />
| 1<br />
|-<br />
| Astro-<br />
| 2010000<br />
| 20600<br />
| 226000<br />
| 430<br />
| 64<br />
| 580<br />
| 0<br />
| 0<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===List of Scientific fields===<br />
This is included for easy reading of the numbers:<br />
*Theoretical Physics: 3,990,000<br />
*Theoretical Chemistry: 445,000<br />
*Theoretical Biology: 553,000<br />
*Theoretical Engineering: 2,460<br />
*Theoretical Psychology: 15,500<br />
*Theoretical Theology: 726<br />
*Theoretical Dentistry: 41<br />
*Theoretical Massage: 10<br />
*Quantum Physics: 478,000<br />
*Quantum Chemistry: 740,000<br />
*Quantum Biology: 7,620<br />
*Quantum Engineering: 21,100<br />
*Quantum Psychology: 699<br />
*Quantum Theology: 447<br />
*Quantum Dentistry: None<br />
*Quantum Massage: 6<br />
*High-Energy Physics: 844,000<br />
*High-Energy Chemistry: 9,600<br />
*High-Energy Biology: 3<br />
*High-Energy Engineering: 119<br />
*High-Energy Psychology: 1<br />
**Job ad from October 31st, 2001, asking for "high energy psychology, speech pathology or special education majors to work with our mildly autistic son"<br />
*High-Energy Theology: None<br />
*High-Energy Dentistry: None<br />
*High-Energy Massage: 2<br />
*Computational Physics: 510,000<br />
*Computational Chemistry: 599,000<br />
*Computational Biology: 2,910,000<br />
*Computational Engineering: 67,400<br />
*Computational Psychology: 4,620<br />
*Computational Theology: 40<br />
*Computational Dentistry: 11<br />
*Computational Massage: 1<br />
*Marine Physics: 3,920<br />
*Marine Chemistry: 136,000<br />
*Marine Biology: 945,000<br />
*Marine Engineering: 108,000<br />
*Marine Psychology: 35<br />
*Marine Theology: 6<br />
*Marine Dentistry: 1<br />
**The paper mentions "Transportation, Marine, Denstistry, Electronics"<br />
*Marine Massage: 1<br />
**Article in "Professional Beauty" of 2021, mentioning "An exceptional massage technique with the professional-only Oligo-Marine Massage Cream includes smoothing, relaxing and stretching movements for total relaxation and optimal skin"<br />
*Astrophysics: 2,010,000<br />
*Astrochemistry: 20,600<br />
*Astrobiology: 226,000<br />
*Astroengineering: 430<br />
*Astrophychology: 64<br />
*Astrotheology: 580<br />
*Astrodentistry: None<br />
*Astromassage: None<br />
<br />
==Table with explanations==<br />
*Here all 48 fields can be explained in a table:<br />
{|class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Field<br />
! Number of Searches<br />
! Explanation of field<br />
|-<br />
| Theoretical Physics<br />
| 3990000<br />
| {{w|Theoretical Physics}} is a whole field in itself, with journals made only for that type of physics. Also the one with by far most hits.<br />
|- <br />
| Theoretical Chemistry<br />
| 445000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Theoretical Biology<br />
| 553000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Theoretical Engineering<br />
| 2460<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Theoretical Psychology<br />
| 15500<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Theoretical Theology<br />
| 726<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Theoretical Dentistry<br />
| 41<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Theoretical Massage<br />
| 10<br />
| Theoretical Massage is not a real scientific field{{Citation needed}}, but rather the theory about it, in contrast to the practical application of {{w|Massage|massage}}. This term is most likely to be used in the context of learning or studying massages, for example during the process of becoming a massage therapist. Alternatively this term could refer to the studying of the masses of matter, (or its massage if you will). This would make it a field of physics.<br />
|-<br />
| Quantum Physics<br />
| 478000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Quantum Chemistry<br />
| 740000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Quantum Biology<br />
| 7620<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Quantum Engineering<br />
| 21100<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Quantum Psychology<br />
| 699<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Quantum Theology<br />
| 447<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Quantum Dentistry<br />
| None<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Quantum Massage<br />
| 6<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy Physics<br />
| 844000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy Chemistry<br />
| 9600<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy Biology<br />
| 3<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy Engineering<br />
| 119<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy Psychology<br />
| 1<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy Theology<br />
| None<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy Dentistry<br />
| None<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy Massage<br />
| 2<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Computational Physics<br />
| 510000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Computational Chemistry<br />
| 599000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Computational Biology<br />
| 2910000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Computational Engineering<br />
| 67400<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Computational Psychology<br />
| 4620<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Computational Theology<br />
| 40<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Computational Dentistry<br />
| 11<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Computational Massage<br />
| 1<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Marine Physics<br />
| 3920<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Marine Chemistry<br />
| 136000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Marine Biology<br />
| 945000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Marine Engineering<br />
| 108000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Marine Psychology<br />
| 35<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Marine Theology<br />
| 6<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Marine Dentistry<br />
| 1<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Marine Massage<br />
| 1<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Astrophysics<br />
| 2010000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Astrochemistry<br />
| 20600<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Astrobiology<br />
| 226000<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Astroengineering<br />
| 430<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Astrophychology<br />
| 64<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Astrotheology<br />
| 580<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Astrodentistry<br />
| None<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Astromassage<br />
| None<br />
| <br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A table is drawn with seven columns and six rows. Above each column and to the left of each row there is a label. All 42 fields are filled out with a number, except when the number is 0, then is says none in a red font. Above the table there is a large header:]<br />
:<big>Number of search results on Google Scholar</big><br />
:{|class="wikitable"<br />
|<br />
| Physics<br />
| Chemistry<br />
| Biology<br />
| Engineering<br />
| Psychology<br />
| Theology<br />
| Dentistry<br />
|-<br />
| Theoretical <br />
| 3,990,000<br />
| 445,000<br />
| 553,000<br />
| 2,460<br />
| 15,500<br />
| 726<br />
| 41<br />
|-<br />
| Quantum <br />
| 478,000<br />
| 740,000<br />
| 7,620<br />
| 21,100<br />
| 699<br />
| 447<br />
| <span style="color:red">''None''</span><br><br />
|-<br />
| High-Energy<br />
| 844,000<br />
| 9,600<br />
| 3<br />
| 119<br />
| 1<br />
| <span style="color:red">''None''</span><br><br />
| <span style="color:red">''None''</span><br><br />
|-<br />
| Computational <br />
| 510,000<br />
| 599,000<br />
| 2,910,000<br />
| 67,400<br />
| 4,620<br />
| 40<br />
| 11<br />
|-<br />
| Marine <br />
| 3,920<br />
| 136,000<br />
| 945,000<br />
| 108,000<br />
| 35<br />
| 6<br />
| 1<br />
|-<br />
| Astro-<br />
| 2,010,000<br />
| 20,600<br />
| 226,000<br />
| 430<br />
| 64<br />
| 580<br />
| <span style="color:red">''None''</span><br><br />
|}<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Potential research opportunities: Quantum Dentistry, High-Energy Dentistry, Astrodentistry, and High-Energy Theology<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Google Search]] <br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]<br />
[[Category:Engineering]]<br />
[[Category:Psychology]]<br />
[[Category:Religion]]<br />
[[Category:Scientific research]]</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Cursed_Connectors&diff=288527Category:Cursed Connectors2022-07-09T10:24:35Z<p>172.70.250.231: Add #120 to list</p>
<hr />
<div>This series of "cursed" connectors began with "Cursed Connectors #187", [[2493: Dual USB-C]], in July 2021. The second installment was released two comics later with "Cursed Connectors #65": [[2495: Universal Seat Belt]]. This was eventually followed three weeks later by "Cursed Connectors #102": [[2503: Memo Spike Connector]].<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] had already made a similar series, [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]], which also uses a similar number system, with the first comic already beginning with a high number for the first bad projection, #107. Similar to this series, the second projection has a lower number than the first (#79).<br />
<br />
However, these connectors are not real connectors. What is meant by "cursed" is uncertain; likely, though, they are "cursed" due to not being functional. Presumably the use of the term takes inspiration from the widespread meme referring to "cursed images" and the [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cursed-image like] A jab at all the different connectors in existence, and how they often break down, maybe because people try to jam them into the wrong sockets because they have so many different types.<br />
<br />
The connectors get a number which, if taken seriously, would mean there are at least 280 cursed connectors {{w|German_tank_problem|but probably more}}. So far they have the following numbers (listed in number order rather than release order).<br />
:<nowiki>#65</nowiki>: [[2495: Universal Seat Belt|Universal Seat Belt]]<br />
:<nowiki>#78</nowiki>: [[2589: Outlet Denier|Outlet Denier]]<br />
:<nowiki>#102</nowiki>: [[2503: Memo Spike Connector|Memo Spike Connector]]<br />
:<nowiki>#120</nowiki>: [[2642: Meta-Alternating Current|Meta-Alternating Current]]<br />
:<nowiki>#187</nowiki>: [[2493: Dual USB-C|Dual USB-C]]<br />
:<nowiki>#280</nowiki>: [[2507: USV-C|USV-C]]<br />
<br />
This may give promise of several more comics with cursed connectors.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comic series]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring cursed items]]</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2637:_Roman_Numerals&diff=287660Talk:2637: Roman Numerals2022-06-25T06:12:53Z<p>172.70.250.231: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Immediately came to this site as soon as the comic popped up [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.43|172.70.114.43]] 22:43, 24 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
For anyone wondering about the alt text: "CheCk out thIs InnoVatIVe strIng enCoDIng IVe been DeVeLopIng! It's VIrtuaCy perfeCt! ...hang on, what's a "virtuacy"?" Roman numerals are in uppercase. : [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.209|162.158.90.209]] 23:00, 24 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I didn't see this comment, but I decoded it above. Feel free to update with your text, which includes the casing.<br />
::It should be virtually - LL is 50 50, C is 100. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.121|172.70.110.121]] 00:37, 25 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:By the way, this encoding is not that innovative: back when Roman numbers still meant something to people they were oftentimes hidden inside inscriptions on churches and monuments. If you ever stand in front of a church and wonder why certain letters in a sentence of an inscription are capitalized seemingly at random, this may be the reason. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.231|172.70.250.231]] 06:12, 25 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Relevant OEIS entry: https://oeis.org/A093788 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.129.117|162.158.129.117]] 23:43, 24 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Well, I immediately got the comic, when I saw it, but (though I admire the effort put in) the explanation that seems to have been given is... overly long, IMO. I have no wish to invalidate all the thought put into it, but I really feel it says too much. Even by my standards (I'm often a waffler, as I 'improve' the accuracy and all-inclusiveness of such text). But don't want to rain on the existing author(s) parade, myself, so just sayin'... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.15|162.158.159.15]] 02:01, 25 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:It's not overly long if someone spent the time writing it. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:10, 25 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I wondered too when first reading but like it geeky like that. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.15|172.68.50.15]] 05:37, 25 June 2022 (UTC)</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2636:_What_If%3F_2_Countdown&diff=2875322636: What If? 2 Countdown2022-06-24T11:06:47Z<p>172.70.250.231: 7 minutes in heaven was too obscure</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2636<br />
| date = June 22, 2022<br />
| title = What If? 2 Countdown<br />
| image = what_if_2_countdown.png<br />
| titletext = If you don't end the 99 Bottles of Beer recursion at N=0 it just becomes The Other Song That Never Ends.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by FOUR SCORE AND 7 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic takes the idea of {{w|Advent calendar}}s, and takes it to the extreme. It uses rather absurd and/or obscure ways to measure the amount of time until [[Randall]]'s new book ''What if? 2'' is released, with esoteric units or esoteric numbers. And often both.<br />
<br />
Some concepts that appear several times throughout the calendar are:<br />
<br />
* '''{{w|SI prefixes}}''', which can be applied to the beginning of a unit's name to multiply or divide the unit by powers of 10 or 1,000. This is standard for units like meters and grams, but is rarely applied to measurements of time other than when a unit of less than one second is needed, most commonly in various fields of science and engineering such as physics and electronics.<br />
* The '''{{w|Gettysburg Address}}''', a famous speech delivered by U.S. president Abraham Lincoln in 1863, where he began by referring to the signing of the Declaration of Independence taking place "four score and seven years ago". A score is a dated term for the number 20, so "four score and seven" is equivalent to 87.<br />
* A '''dog year''' is traditionally considered to be one-seventh the length of a normal human year, since a dog's overall lifespan is roughly one-seventh of a typical human's. The comic applies this to other units of time, such as minutes and months, each of which is also one-seventh the length of the standard unit. The number 7 (traditionally a "lucky number") is also used in many of the numbers quoted in the calendar.<br />
* Other comparative durations of time that are not normally or usefully applied to day-length multiples. At the top end, there is the age of the universe, at the other there is {{w|Planck_units#Planck_time|Planck-time}} – with entire durations of periods of human history and the time needed to watch popular TV/film franchises in-between – most of which require a non-trivial multiplier or divisor to bring them to the necessary scale required. <br />
* A '''{{w|baker's dozen}}''' is 13, or one more than a normal dozen. Here, the "baker's" prefix can be applied to any unit by adding an extra one of its constituent parts, like an extra hour added to a day.<br />
* '''{{w|Irrational numbers}}''' like {{w|pi}} (3.14159...), {{w|Euler's number}} or ''e'' (2.71828...), the {{w|golden ratio}} (1.61803...), and the {{w|square root of 2}} (1.41421...). These are all interesting numbers because of their mathematical properties, but very impractical to use as arbitrary measurements of time because they have an endless series of non-repeating decimal digits.<br />
* The teenage dating game '''{{w|Seven minutes in heaven}}'''. <br />
* Rotation and revolution periods of various planets and moons in the Solar System.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Days !! Date !! Units !! Exact value !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| 83 || Jun 22 || π<sup>e</sup> millidecades || 82.0304 days || π ≈ 3.14159, e ≈ 2.718, so π<sup>e</sup> is about 22.459. A millidecade is 1/1000 decade, or 1/100 year, or 3.652425 days. Multiplying these results in 82.03 days. This is a play on {{w|Euler's identity}}, e<sup>iπ</sup>=-1, but raising pi to the power of e instead.<br />
|-<br />
| 82 || Jun 23 || 7 megaseconds || 81.0185 days || 7,000,000 seconds<br />
|-<br />
| 81 || Jun 24 || e lunar months || 80.27247 days || A lunar month ≈ 29.53059 days, e ≈ 2.718<br />
|-<br />
| 80 || Jun 25 || 60 rotations of Foucault's pendulum in Paris || 79.67 days || '''{{w|Paris}}''' is the capital city of '''{{w|France}}''' and it's located at a latitude of 48º 51' 23" N. '''{{w|Foucault's pendulum}}''' is a device conceived by French physicist '''{{w|Léon Foucault}}''', consisting of a pendulum that is free to rotate its plane of oscillation. When placed in a rotating '''{{w|Non-inertial reference frame}}''' such as the '''{{w|Earth}}''', that has an associated rotation period of 24 hours, the oscillation plane of Foucault's pendulum rotates at a rate determined by the Earth's period and the angle between the rotation axis of the frame of reference and the direction of its elongation in resting position, i.e. its latitude, with a period T = T<sub>🜨</sub>/sin(λ), being T<sub>🜨</sub> Earth's period and λ the latitude of the pendulum. Historically, Léon Foucault performed this experiment in the city of Paris, most famously (although not for the first time, which happened at the '''{{w|Paris Observatory}}''') under the dome of the '''{{w|Panthéon}}''', to demonstrate Earth's rotation. At this latitude, Foucault's pendulum completes a full rotation every 31.8 hours.<br />
|-<br />
| 79 || Jun 26 || 8 milligenerations || 78.89 days || A generation is in general 22-33 years, with a reasonable mid-point of 27; and 8 x 0.001 (milli) x 365.2425 (accounting for leap years) x 27 ≈ 78.89 days<br />
|-<br />
| 78 || Jun 27 || 777,777 dog minutes || 77.16 days || A popular myth is that dogs age 7 times faster than humans, so 1 dog minute equals 1/7 human minutes. <br />
|-<br />
| 77 || Jun 28 || 7! episodes of ''Jeopardy!'' (skipping ads) || 77 days || 7!=7x6x5x4x3x2x1=5040 - The standard episode of ''Jeopardy'' is 22-26 minutes skipping ads - taking the lowest value you get 110880 minutes total, which is the exact value needed.<br />
|-<br />
| 76 || Jun 29 || 5,000 repeats of ''99 Bottles of Beer'' || 76.3889 days || Each verse of {{w|99 Bottles of Beer}} is "''N'' bottles of beer on the wall, ''N'' bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, ''N-1'' bottles of beer on the wall." The entire song contains 99 verses. Randall apparently sings this rather slowly at around 72 bpm, taking about 13 seconds per verse. <br />
|-<br />
| 75 || Jun 30 || 5 baker's fortnights (15 days) || 75 days || A {{w|baker's dozen}} is a dozen (12) plus 1 extra item. Randall has generalized this to adding 1 to any unit. A fortnight is 2 weeks, so a baker's fortnight is 15 days. 5x15 is 75 days.<br />
|-<br />
| 74 || Jul 1 || √2 dog years || 73.79 days || See day 78 (Jun 27)<br />
|-<br />
| 73 || Jul 2 || π millivics (1/1000th of Queen Victoria's reign) || 72.966631 days || {{w|Queen Victoria}} ruled between 20 June 1837 and 22 January 1901 (23,226 days). <br />
|-<br />
| 72 || Jul 3 || 42 drives from NYC to LA (Google Maps estimate) || 71.75 days || According to Google Maps, the drive from New York City to Los Angeles via I-80 W (2789 miles or 4489 km) takes 41 hours.<br />
|-<br />
| 71 || Jul 4 || 1,000 viewings of ''Groundhog Day''|| 70.14 days || Using {{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day's}} 101-minute run time. <br />
|-<br />
| 70 || Jul 5 || 100,000 minutes || 69.44 days ||<br />
|-<br />
| 69 || Jul 6 || 1/10th of Martian year || 68.70 Earth days || Martian sidereal and tropical years both round to 687.0 Earth days<br />
|-<br />
| 68 || Jul 7 || 1,234,567 sound-miles || 67.63 days || The speed of sound in air depends on the temperature. 15 °C or 59 °F gives the value 340 m/s and the travel time of 67.6349058 days.<br />
|-<br />
| 67 || Jul 8 || 2<sup>π<sup>e</sup></sup> seconds || 66.7 days || 2^(π^e) = 5,766,073 seconds<br />
|-<br />
| 66 || Jul 9 || 2<sup>16</sup> beats (Swatch Internet Time) || 65.536 days || {{w|.beat}} is equal to 1/1000 day.<br />
|-<br />
| 65 || Jul 10 || 1,000 ISS orbits || 64.58 days || Each orbit of the ISS takes 90-93 minutes. Here a value of 93 minutes is used.<br />
|-<br />
| 64 || Jul 11 || Five hundred twenty five thousand (base seven) minutes|| 62.8833333333333 days || This refers to {{w|radix}}-7 arithmetic: 525,000<sub>7</sub> minutes = 90,552<sub>10</sub> minutes. Also references the opening and recurring line "Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes" from {{w|Seasons of Love}}, a song from the musical {{w|Rent (musical)|''Rent''}}, which is also referenced in [[1047: Approximations]]. "base seven" has the same rhythm as "six hundred".<br />
|-<br />
| 63 || Jul 12 || 10<sup>50</sup> Planck times || 62.38 days || 10^50 x 5.39 x 10^-44 seconds<br />
|-<br />
| 62 || Jul 13 || 4,000 episodes of ''The Office'' (skipping ads)|| 62.5 days || {{w|The Office (British TV series)|''The Office''}} was originally a {{w|BBC}} television show which had no commercial breaks, but Randall is obviously more familiar with the {{w|The_Office_(American_TV_series)|US version}}. This US "half-hour" comedy format contains 22.5 minutes of content (including the title sequence) and 7.5 minutes of ads. <!-- When you get here, note that the original The Office was on the BBC in the UK and had no ads and thus filled its allocated broadcasting slot, give or take intro/follow-on announcements... Only the US adaptation/remake has ads to be skipped. So link the 'correct' one (from Randall's POV, at least). --><br />
|-<br />
| 61 || Jul 14 || Four score and seven kilominutes || 60.4166 days || 87 x 1000 minutes<br />
|-<br />
| 60 || Jul 15 || 2 lunar months || 59.06 days || There are a number of different ways to define the {{w|lunar month}}. The most common is the synodic month, because it relates to the phases of the moon, and it's approximately 29.53 days.<br />
|-<br />
| 59 || Jul 16 || Half a day on Venus || 58.375 days || A Venus synodic day is 116 days 18 hours.<br />
|-<br />
| 58 || Jul 17 || 5 megaseconds || 57.8704 days || 5,000,000 seconds<br />
|-<br />
| 57 || Jul 18 || 30 microLits (1/1,000,000th of the time since the invention of literature) || 4681~4763 years &times; 10<sup>-6<sup> || Randall is stating that "literature" was invented approximately 2700 BCE. This is consistent with the earliest surviving coherent Sumerian texts, but the earliest proto-writing likely developed at least 500 years earlier according to {{w|History of writing}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 56 || Jul 19 || 1,000 viewings of ''Run Lola Run'' || 55.556 days || Using {{w|Run Lola Run|the movie's}} run time of 80 minutes.<br />
|-<br />
| 55 || Jul 20 || One million sound-miles || 54.78 days || The speed of sound in air depends on the temperature. 15 °C or 59 °F gives the value 340 m/s and the travel time of 54.7843137 days.<br />
|-<br />
| 54 || Jul 21 || 30 Ionian months || 53.0741 days || Orbital period of Io around Jupiter is approximately 1.77 days.<br />
|-<br />
| 53 || Jul 22 || One dog year || 52.18 days || See day 78 (Jun 27)<br />
|-<br />
| 52 || Jul 23 || 60 viewings of ''Star Wars Episodes I-IX'' || 51.75 days || According to [https://dorksideoftheforce.com/2021/05/04/how-long-to-watch-every-star-wars-movie/ Fansided] the combined running times are 20 hours 42 minutes.<br />
|-<br />
| 51 || Jul 24 || 1/100,000,000,000th of the universe's age || 50.4035 days || The universe is estimated to be about 13.8 billion years old.<br />
|-<br />
| 50 || Jul 25 || 5 milli-generations || 49.3 days || See day 79 (Jun 26)<br />
|-<br />
| 49 || Jul 26 || 10,000 games of ''7 minutes in Heaven'' or 7 games of ''10,000 minutes in Heaven'' || 48.61 days || {{w|Seven minutes in heaven}} is an Anglo-culture teenager game, occuring in several movies. 10,000 minutes in Heaven is almost a week of making out (or doing whatever in a broom closet), so this game is unlikely.<br />
|-<br />
| 48 || Jul 27 || φ<sup>e<sup>π</sup></sup> minutes || 47.6164 days || 68,567.57 minutes<br />
|-<br />
| 47 || Jul 28 || 4 megaseconds || 46.2963 days || 4,000,000 seconds<br />
|-<br />
| 46 || Jul 29 || 2<sup>16</sup> minutes || 45.5111 days || 65,536 minutes<br />
|-<br />
| 45 || Jul 30 || e<sup>e<sup>e</sup></sup> seconds || 44.1467 days || 3,814,279.10 seconds<br />
|-<br />
| 44 || Jul 31 || π fortnights|| 43.98 days || 3.14159 x 14 days<br />
|-<br />
| 43 || Aug 1 || One devil's spacewalk (666 orbits of the ISS) || 43.01 days || See day 65 (Jul 10). 666 is the {{w|number of the beast}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 42 || Aug 2 || 1 kilowatt-hour per watt || 41.66 days || 1000 hours<br />
|-<br />
| 41 || Aug 3 || e<sup>π</sup> Ionian months || 40.9390 days || Orbital period of Io around Jupiter is 1.769137786 days<br />
|-<br />
| 40 || Aug 4 || 30 rotations of Foucault's pendulum in Paris || 39.8357 days || Refer to Day 80 (Jun 25)<br />
|-<br />
| 39 || Aug 5 || e fortnights || 38.0559 days ||2.71828 x 14 days<br />
|-<br />
| 38 || Aug 6 || π<sup>e</sup> baker's days (25 hours) || 37.98 days || See day 75 (Jun 30)<br />
|-<br />
| 37 || Aug 7 || One deciyear || 36.52425 days || One tenth of one year<br />
|-<br />
| 36 || Aug 8 || 7! milliweeks || 35.28 days || 5040 × 0.001 weeks <br />
|-<br />
| 35 || Aug 9 || 100,000 plays of the ''Jeopardy!'' "Think" music || 34.72 days || ''Think'' is the music played while the contestants try to answer the Final Jeopardy question; it is 30 seconds long.<br />
|-<br />
| 34 || Aug 10 || 1000 basketball games (game time) || 33.33 days || Uses the NBA game time of four 12-minute quarters, or 48 minutes<br />
|-<br />
| 33 || Aug 11 || 777 hours || 32.375 days ||<br />
|-<br />
| 32 || Aug 12 || One millilincoln (1/1000 of fourscore and seven years) || 31.78 days || {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s {{w|Gettysburg Address}} begins with the famous phrase "Four score and seven years ago". 1 score = twenty. <!-- in this case, of years, but 'years' is already after the "four score and seven", so redundant and somewhat wrong --><br />
|-<br />
| 31 || Aug 13 || 1,000 episodes of ''60 Minutes'' (skipping ads) || 31.25 days || Uses a television 'hour' containing 45 minutes of content and 15 minutes of ads<br />
|-<br />
| 30 || Aug 14 || All of ''Star Trek'', consecutively || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 29 || Aug 15 || 777,777 nanocenturies || 28.4077 days || 777,777 × 10<sup>-9</sup> × 100 years<br />
|-<br />
| 28 || Aug 16 || One sidereal lunar month || 27.3 days || The time it takes moon to return to the same position relative to the fixed stars<br />
|-<br />
| 27 || Aug 17 || 6 dog months || 26.1 days || See day 78 (Jun 27)<br />
|-<br />
| 26 || Aug 18 || π<sup>π</sup> kilominutes || 25.3209 days || 36,462.16 minutes<br />
|-<br />
| 25 || Aug 19 || 7 games of 7! minutes in Heaven || 24.5 days || 7 x 5040 (7 {{w|Factorial}}) minutes. See also day 49 (Jul 26).<br />
|-<br />
| 24 || Aug 20 || 50 viewings of the extended ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 23 || Aug 21 || A drive from NYC to LA where you keep remembering new things you forgot and have to go back 6 times || 22.21 days || See day 72 (Jul 3). This is for 6 round-trips and 1 one-way trip.<!-- is this a reference to something? --><br />
|-<br />
| 22 || Aug 22 || ''It's a Small World'' sung at 1/10,000th speed || 21.18 days || {{w|It's a Small World}} is a song that was composed for the attraction of the same name at various {{w|Disney}} theme parks, and plays continuously at them in various languages.<br />
|-<br />
| 21 || Aug 23 || 500 hours || 20.8333 days ||<br />
|-<br />
| 20 || Aug 24 || √2 fortnights || 19.7990 days || 1.4142 × 14 days<br />
|-<br />
| 19 || Aug 25 || Time it would take Vanessa Carlton to walk 1,000 miles || 18.94 days || {{w|Vanessa Carlton}} is an American singer, and {{w|A Thousand Miles}} is her most successful song. Randall estimates her walking speed at about 2.2 miles/hour.<br />
|-<br />
| 18 || Aug 26 || 100,000 breaths || .26 min/breath || Normal respiratory rate for adults is typically 12-20 breaths per minute. Randall may have a health problem or be a practitioner of "slow breathing".<br />
|-<br />
| 17 || Aug 27 || √2 megaseconds || 16.3682 days || 1.4142 × 1,000,000 seconds<br />
|-<br />
| 16 || Aug 28 || π<sup>π<sup>π</sup></sup> πcoseconds || 15.5112 days || 1.3402 × 10<sup>18</sup> picoseconds (i.e., 10<sup>-12</sup> seconds), making a joke how the mathematical "pi" is written with the character "π"<br />
|-<br />
| 15 || Aug 29 || One baker's fortnight (15 days) || 15 days || See day 75 (Jun 30)<br />
|-<br />
| 14 || Aug 30 || One baker's dozen (13) baker's days (25 hours) || 13.5416 days || 325 hours; see day 75 (Jun 30)<br />
|-<br />
| 13 || Aug 31 || 300 hours || 12.5 days ||<br />
|-<br />
| 12 || Sep 1 || One million seconds || 11.57 days ||<br />
|-<br />
| 11 || Sep 2 || One nonstop bike ride from NYC to LA || 10.54 days || Google maps estimates the trip at 253 hours<br />
|-<br />
| 10 || Sep 3 || <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>1,000</sub>th of a generation || 9.86 days || See day 79 (Jun 26)<br />
|-<br />
| 9 || Sep 4 || 777,777 seconds || 9.002 days ||<br />
|-<br />
| 8 || Sep 5 || 100 viewings of ''Groundhog Day'' || 7.014 days || See Day 71 (Jul 4). <br />
|-<br />
| 7 || Sep 6 || 100 games of ''Lincoln Kissing'' (Fourscore and seven minutes in Heaven) || 6.04 days || 8,700 minutes<br />
|-<br />
| 6 || Sep 7 || One pico-universe-lifetime || 5.04 days || See Day 51 (Jul 24)<br />
|-<br />
| 5 || Sep 8 || The ''Baby Shark'' chorus for a family of 50,000 sharks || 4.63 days || The chorus lasts about 8 seconds per 'person'<br />
|-<br />
| 4 || Sep 9 || One centiyear || 3.652425 days || 365.24 days * 1/100<br />
|-<br />
| 3 || Sep 10 || Cyndi Lauper's ''Time After Time'' played 1,000 times || 2.79 days || Based on a length of 4 minutes, 1 second<br />
|-<br />
| 2 || Sep 11 || ''Speed'' (1994) played at one frame per second || 1.933 days || {{w|Speed_(1994_film)}} has runtime of 116 minutes = 6,960 seconds = 167,040 film frames at standard frame rate of 24 frames/second<br />
|-<br />
| 1 || Sep 12 || F(99) where F(N) means sing all the verses of ''N Bottles of Beer On the wall'' followed by F(N-1) || 0.7639 days || Each iteration contains ''N'' verses. ''N + N-1 + N-2 ... + 1'' equals ''N * (N+1) / 2'', so 99 recursions = 4950 verses. Using the same 13-second (72 bpm) rate as Jun 29, this is close to 18 hours. Probably refers to Donald Knuth's article {{w|The Complexity of Songs}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 0 || Sep 13 || ''What If? 2'' release day || ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the recursive time period on Sep 12. If you don't stop when you reach N=0 bottles, the repetition never ends, so that time interval becomes infinite. He likens it to {{w|The Song That Never Ends}}, another repetitive children's song, which is specifically intended to go on forever. The difference is that the Beer song has a natural stopping point at 0, while ''The Song That Never Ends'' is completely repetitive.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Large heading: Countdown to ''What if? 2''<br />
<br />
Subheading: (Preorder at [https://xkcd.com/whatif2 xkcd.com/whatif2] to get it at the end of the countdown)<br />
<br />
Remainder of comic is a calendar with the date in one corner of each day's box.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Date !! Description <br />
|-<br />
| Jun 22 || π<sup>e</sup> millidecades <br />
|-<br />
| Jun 23 || 7 megaseconds <br />
|-<br />
| Jun 24 || e lunar months <br />
|-<br />
| Jun 25 || 60 rotations of Foucault's pendulum in Paris <br />
|-<br />
| Jun 26 || 8 milligenerations <br />
|-<br />
| Jun 27 || 777,777 dog minutes <br />
|-<br />
| Jun 28 || 7! episodes of ''Jeopardy!'' (skipping ads) <br />
|-<br />
| Jun 29 || 5,000 repeats of ''99 Bottles of Beer'' <br />
|-<br />
| Jun 30 || 5 baker's fortnights (15 days) <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 1 || √2 dog years <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 2 || π millivics (1/1000th of Queen Victoria's reign) <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 3 || 42 drives from NYC to LA (Google Maps estimate) <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 4 || 1,000 viewings of ''Groundhog Day''<br />
|-<br />
| Jul 5 || 100,000 minutes <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 6 || 1/10th of Martian year <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 7 || 1,234,567 sound-miles <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 8 || 2<sup>π<sup>e</sup></sup> seconds <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 9 || 2<sup>16</sup> beats (Swatch Internet Time) <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 10 || 1,000 ISS orbits <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 11 || Five hundred twenty five thousand (base seven) minutes (text preceded by several drawn musical notes)<br />
|-<br />
| Jul 12 || 10<sup>50</sup> Planck times <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 13 || 4,000 episodes of ''The Office'' (skipping ads) <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 14 || Four score and seven kilominutes <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 15 || 2 lunar months <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 16 || Half a day on Venus <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 17 || 5 megaseconds <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 18 || 30 microLits (1/1,000,000th of the time since the invention of literature) <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 19 || 1,000 viewings of ''Run Lola Run'' <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 20 || One million sound-miles <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 21 || 30 Ionian months <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 22 || One dog year <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 23 || 60 viewings of ''Star Wars Episodes I-IX''<br />
|-<br />
| Jul 24 || 1/100,000,000,000th of the universe's age <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 25 || 5 milli-generations <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 26 || 10,000 games of ''7 minutes in Heaven'' or 7 games of ''10,000 minutes in Heaven'' <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 27 || φ<sup>e<sup>π</sup></sup> minutes <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 28 || 4 megaseconds <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 29 || 2<sup>16</sup> minutes <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 30 || e<sup>e<sup>e</sup></sup> seconds <br />
|-<br />
| Jul 31 || π fortnights <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 1 || one devil's spacewalk (666 orbits of the ISS) <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 2 || 1 kilowatt-hour per watt <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 3 || e<sup>π</sup> Ionian months <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 4 || 30 rotations of Foucault's pendulum in Paris <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 5 || e fortnights <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 6 || π<sup>e</sup> baker's days (25 hours) <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 7 || one deciyear <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 8 || 7! milliweeks <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 9 || 100,000 plays of the ''Jeopardy!'' "Think" music <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 10 || 1000 basketball games (game time) <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 11 || 777 hours <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 12 || one millilincoln (1/1000 of fourscore and seven years) <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 13 || 1,000 episodes of ''60 Minutes'' (skipping ads) <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 14 || All of ''Star Trek'', consecutively<br />
|-<br />
| Aug 15 || 777,777 nanocenturies <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 16 || one sidereal lunar month <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 17 || 6 dog months <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 18 || π<sup>π</sup> kilominutes <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 19 || 7 games of ''7! minutes in Heaven'' <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 20 || 50 viewings of the extended ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 21 || A drive from NYC to LA where you keep remembering new things you forgot and have to go back 6 times <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 22 || ''It's a Small World'' sung at 1/10,000th speed <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 23 || 500 hours <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 24 || √2 fortnights <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 25 || Time it would take Vanessa Carlton to walk 1,000 miles <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 26 || 100,000 breaths <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 27 || √2 megaseconds <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 28 || π<sup>π<sup>π</sup></sup> πcoseconds <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 29 || One baker's fortnight (15 days) <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 30 || One baker's dozen (13) baker's days (25 hours) <br />
|-<br />
| Aug 31 || 300 hours <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 1 || One million seconds <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 2 || One nonstop bike ride from NYC to LA <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 3 || <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>1,000</sub>th of a generation <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 4 || 777,777 seconds <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 5 || 100 viewings of ''Groundhog Day'' <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 6 || 100 games of ''Lincoln Kissing'' (Fourscore and seven minutes in Heaven) <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 7 || One pico-universe-lifetime <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 8 || The ''Baby Shark'' chorus for a family of 50,000 sharks <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 9 || One centiyear <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 10 || Cyndi Lauper's ''Time After Time'' played 1,000 times <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 11 || ''Speed'' (1994) played at one frame per second <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 12 || F(99) where F(N) means sing all the verses of ''N Bottles of Beer On the wall'' followed by F(N-1) <br />
|-<br />
| Sep 13 || ''What If? 2'' release day<br />
|}<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Book promotion]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Songs]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Help_I%27m_trapped_in_a_driver%27s_license_factory_Elaine_Roberts&diff=276994Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory Elaine Roberts2022-05-26T11:20:24Z<p>172.70.250.231: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Infobox character<br />
| image = Elaine_Roberts.png<br />
| imagesize = <br />
| caption = Elaine Roberts seen in [[1337: Part 3]]<br />
| first_appearance = [[342: 1337: Part 2]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Help I'm Trapped In A Driver's License Factory Elaine Roberts''', known simply as '''Elaine''' or '''Elaine Roberts''', is the world's best hacker. She is the oldest child of [[Mrs. Roberts]], and has a younger brother nicknamed [[Little Bobby Tables]]. She is primarily featured in the 1337 xkcd series, where she is introduced. She was mentored by {{w|Donald Knuth}} in his mountain hideaway for four years {{tvtropes|SurpassedTheTeacher|until she bested him}}. She has broken into the {{w|NSA}} headquarters with the help of {{w|Adrian Lamo}}. She helped {{w|Steve Jobs}} develop a vision of the future Apple, as well as having fought MPAA and RIAA ninja with {{w|Richard Stallman}}'s help. <br />
<br />
According to trivia in the title text of [[342: 1337: Part 2]], "Elaine" is actually her middle name. Her actual "first" name is "Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory" as stated in the title text of [[327: Exploits of a Mom]].<br />
<br />
When she is drawn as an adult, she has white shoulder-length hair, and is a named version of [[Blondie]], like how [[Rob]] is a named version of [[Cueball]].<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[:Category:Comics featuring Elaine Roberts]]<br />
<br />
{{navbox-characters}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:54:_Science&diff=231433Talk:54: Science2022-04-29T14:30:14Z<p>172.70.250.231: Added explanation for shape of graph</p>
<hr />
<div>It's also commonly called "Microwave Background Radiation" because where the radiation peaks at 160.4 GHz is in the microwave range of the electromagnetic spectrum. --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 18:02, 13 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Error - Inverted graph!<br />
Am I the only one who came here confused because the graph is wrong? The shape of the graph is clearly that of blackbody radiation - on a wavelength axis! However Randall titles the axis GHz (pointing right) which is the inverse of wavelength (of course on a wavelength axis, the curve should not extend down to zero). But look up the graph on Wikipedia, and notice that it's on a wavelength scale and looks exactly like this - even better, google "black body radiation" images, and notice how ~95% of them show the radiation on a wavelength scale for some reason. But scroll down, and eventually you'll see one on a frequency scale. It looks quite different!<br />
Also, the blackbody radiation is known for its rather sharp high frequency cutoff (or low wavelength), which Randall accidentally got inverted here, and placed at zero... It shows much more dramatically on frequency axis, which is why you can very clearly see that this graph is NOT a radiation graph on a frequency axis - it goes on to infinity.<br />
Anyway, sorry for the rant - but it's Science bitches, and axis' matter! Especially if you are going to invert one of them! - Richard [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.16|162.158.134.16]] 22:56, 28 June 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don't think it's inverted. We are not plotting against -wavelength but 1/wavelength, so it's plausible to have the sharp drop on the left. I haven't plotted it for myself, but see for example https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-plot-of-the-intensity-of-the-radiation-of-a-blackbody-versus-frequency-for-temperatures_fig2_259735413. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.231|172.70.250.231]] 14:30, 29 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Title Text Meaning<br />
<br />
As can easily be seen from the page's history, Dgbrt and I have been locked in a minor edit war over the meaning of the title text. I claim that Randall is simply complimenting the readers who happen to know what the formula and curve mean. Dgbrt thinks otherwise; I will let him explain his interpretation.<br />
<br />
Please add to this discussion so we may come to a consensus on its meaning. Thanks. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 23:18, 25 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Glad to oblige. I think we need to draw a distinction between what Randall means and what some people might like him to mean. Many people don't agree that the universe started with a Big Bang, whether because they're cosmologists who support an alternative scientific theory, or because they're young earth Creationists who hold that God created the universe about 6000 years ago, or because they're philosophers who hold it self-evident that something can't come out of nothing, or for whatever reason.<br />
<br />
Now, I'm not going to say which of those (if any) I believe, because it really doesn't matter in this context - and neither is it important (''in this context'') what Quicksilver or Dgbrt believes. What we have to keep clear in our minds is that this site is about explaining the cartoons, not projecting particular philosophical standpoints onto Randall's mildly ambiguous phrasing. (When he wrote it, I doubt very much whether he realised he was writing ambiguously.)<br />
<br />
The xkcd series, throughout its history, shows not only Randall's firm belief in the scientific method for establishing plausible explanations of the way the universe works, but also his antipathy towards historical explanations that seem to be at odds with observable evidence and even historical record. See #803 and #1255 for obvious examples.<br />
<br />
Given Randall's known love of science and the absence of any firm clues that he was being heavily ironic and running massively against type, I think we have to conclude that he was either praising those who could identify the science he was talking about, or just possibly was trying to cause a Wikipedia search spike! --[[User:BinaryDigit|BinaryDigit]] ([[User talk:BinaryDigit|talk]]) 07:17, 8 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
So no one's gotten the bonus points yet?! He was asking to identify the science in question. When he says "It works", I'm sure he was not meaning that blackbody radiation works. This graph was the key to one of the biggest leaps in human understanding.--[[User:ChrisfromHouston|ChrisfromHouston]] ([[User talk:ChrisfromHouston|talk]]) 06:23, 8 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
:He meant that Science in general works. And this is just an example that proves this point. And he has explained what the graph is on his own page in the shop. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:16, 30 April 2015 (UTC)</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2609:_Entwives&diff=230902Talk:2609: Entwives2022-04-22T06:36:58Z<p>172.70.250.231: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
This seems like one of the earliest-released comics in recent history [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 14:00, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There seemed to be two versions of the title text; on mobile, there is a youtube link visible, but this is not present on my chrome desktop view [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 14:05, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: The comic is a link, like [[1017: Backward in Time]] and many others. Many Android browsers simply choose to show the target URL beneath the title text. The YouTube URL is not part of the title text, on a PC you can just click the comic to open it. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 11:47, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The mouseover text in android devices is this youtube link - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2qCjL6-n4]] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2qCjL6-n4 [[User:DefectedWBC|DefectedWBC]] ([[User talk:DefectedWBC|talk]]) 14:18, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is LotR the lowest scoring major motion picture on the {{w|Bechdel test}}? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 14:37, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Unlikely, depending on how you define major motion picture.<br />
<br />
:There's no such thing as 'lowest scoring' - it's framed as a pass/fail test.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.203|172.69.79.203]] 11:39, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
As pointed out in YouTube’s comment section, the video seems to be a joke, not ''actually'' the only female interaction in the films. [[User:Chortos-2|Chortos-2]] ([[User talk:Chortos-2|talk]]) 14:49, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:In response to Chortos-2 comment, I would think a slight edit for accuracy along the following lines -- instead of "a video showing" change to "a video that purports to show". As they discuss, the point still stands, but the added accuracy would hurt, would it? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.251|172.70.114.251]] 15:39, 20 April 2022 (UTC)newbie<br />
<br />
Gender imbalance among readers and viewers of lotr as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.53|172.70.230.53]] 14:51, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel like it's weird that nobody's brought up that this is an Ent comic on 4/20. For context, reddit.com/r/trees (the weed subreddit) has an in joke where they call themselves ents, basically. [[User:Bazzherb|Bazzherb]] ([[User talk:Bazzherb|talk]]) 15:44, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
So who is the third hobbit supposed to be? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.38|162.158.203.38]] 15:56, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
:With the caveat that (by movie standard reference) the hair colours are inverted — there is one dark-haired hobbit and three light(er)-haired ones — I'd say Pippin - if he's the taller one of the sidekick pair like I think he is, rather than Merry. But I can't guarantee the first two are Frodo and Sam (or which is which is which) because fairer-haired Sam is taller than dark- (and spiky-)haired Frodo in the reference cast photos I've just checked. (The necessary on-film rescaling/standing-in-a-hole of non-midget actors to play hobbits/dwarves might complicate these group tableaus!) Perhaps they are all Hobbits Of Another Story, coincidentally in a fellowship with another generic Human, Dwarf and Elf. Or else drawn more faithfully to the book (which I have yet to check) than the film adaptation? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 16:30, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
::But Frodo and Sam separated from the Fellowship before they encountered the Ents.[[User:DaBunny42|DaBunny42]] ([[User talk:DaBunny42|talk]]) 13:34, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
:It is not a third hobbit. It is Gandalf: He is a conjurer of cheap tricks and can normally make himself larger, but the Ents can see right through him. That is his natural size depicted. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.231|172.70.250.231]] 06:35, 22 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
Considering Arwens and Ents age, I would actually suspect that yes he totally knows her. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 18:19, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
:My first thought was that, especially with both races having an interest in trees... But then I decided that their opposing views of trees (habitat vs livestock) might have encouraged a natural racial separation, or at least less likely to socially mix over the millenia. (Not that I wrote the text in support of it being a good excuse, I just post-hoc rationalised what I read. ;) ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.211|172.70.85.211]] 19:10, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
*Some major films do even '''worse''' on the Bechdel scale than the ''Lord of the Rings'' films, which at least had three memorable, prominently credited female roles. ''Lawrence of Arabia'' had no actresses credited in the cast list. ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' had no actresses credited in the cast list, nor does IMDb list any uncredited actresses for it. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.33|172.70.178.33]] 19:20, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"...one of the United States' two neighboring countries..." What about Cuba, the Bahamas, Russia, etc.? Just because there is no land border doesn't mean there is no border. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 15:44, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Yeah, it kinda does mean there is no border, at least in those cases. All are well outside the 12 mile zone of territorial sovereignty.[[User:DaBunny42|DaBunny42]] ([[User talk:DaBunny42|talk]]) 00:48, 22 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
::No, the U.S. definitely has borders maritime borders with Cuba, the Bahamas, and Russia. (I can't support the "etc.", however - it's just those three, plus the maritime borders with Canada and (trivially) Mexico as well.) I will fix the text proper.[[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 01:16, 22 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Was the lack of women in the fellowship because of "the cultural biases of the era in which the novels were written", i.e. a novel writing trope? It would it be more accurate to say [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_War_and_Middle-earth the series is influenced by Tolkien's personal experience of fighting on the front lines in World War I.] Women were [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_World_War_I an important part of the war effort,] but were not permitted to fight as soldiers on the front line. If you still want to count that as cultural bias, it would be the war-waging cultural biases of the 1900s/10s that left millions without their fathers, brothers and sons, rather than novel-writing cultural biases of the 1940s. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 19:56, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
My initial reaction to the conversation between Treebeard and Aragorn was that Treebeard was about to become angry and possibly violent due to sexual envy, if he suddenly finds out that all other races in Middle Earth are enjoying normal sexual relations with eachother. A less likely outcome would be that Treebeard and his chums are all quite "friendly" with each other, and he might expect similar "favours" from the Fellowship in exchange for the Ents' assistance in fighting Saruman, etc. Or am I reading too much into this strip? [[User:Beechmere|Beechmere]] ([[User talk:Beechmere|talk]]) 05:27, 22 April 2022 (UTC)Beechmere<br />
<br />
Is Rivendell a "real place" in the Lord of the Rings or something that xkcd made up? What is it known for? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 05:36, 22 April 2022 (UTC)</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2609:_Entwives&diff=230901Talk:2609: Entwives2022-04-22T06:35:57Z<p>172.70.250.231: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
This seems like one of the earliest-released comics in recent history [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 14:00, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There seemed to be two versions of the title text; on mobile, there is a youtube link visible, but this is not present on my chrome desktop view [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 14:05, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: The comic is a link, like [[1017: Backward in Time]] and many others. Many Android browsers simply choose to show the target URL beneath the title text. The YouTube URL is not part of the title text, on a PC you can just click the comic to open it. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 11:47, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The mouseover text in android devices is this youtube link - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2qCjL6-n4]] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2qCjL6-n4 [[User:DefectedWBC|DefectedWBC]] ([[User talk:DefectedWBC|talk]]) 14:18, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is LotR the lowest scoring major motion picture on the {{w|Bechdel test}}? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 14:37, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Unlikely, depending on how you define major motion picture.<br />
<br />
:There's no such thing as 'lowest scoring' - it's framed as a pass/fail test.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.203|172.69.79.203]] 11:39, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
As pointed out in YouTube’s comment section, the video seems to be a joke, not ''actually'' the only female interaction in the films. [[User:Chortos-2|Chortos-2]] ([[User talk:Chortos-2|talk]]) 14:49, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:In response to Chortos-2 comment, I would think a slight edit for accuracy along the following lines -- instead of "a video showing" change to "a video that purports to show". As they discuss, the point still stands, but the added accuracy would hurt, would it? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.251|172.70.114.251]] 15:39, 20 April 2022 (UTC)newbie<br />
<br />
Gender imbalance among readers and viewers of lotr as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.53|172.70.230.53]] 14:51, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel like it's weird that nobody's brought up that this is an Ent comic on 4/20. For context, reddit.com/r/trees (the weed subreddit) has an in joke where they call themselves ents, basically. [[User:Bazzherb|Bazzherb]] ([[User talk:Bazzherb|talk]]) 15:44, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
So who is the third hobbit supposed to be? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.38|162.158.203.38]] 15:56, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
:With the caveat that (by movie standard reference) the hair colours are inverted — there is one dark-haired hobbit and three light(er)-haired ones — I'd say Pippin - if he's the taller one of the sidekick pair like I think he is, rather than Merry. But I can't guarantee the first two are Frodo and Sam (or which is which is which) because fairer-haired Sam is taller than dark- (and spiky-)haired Frodo in the reference cast photos I've just checked. (The necessary on-film rescaling/standing-in-a-hole of non-midget actors to play hobbits/dwarves might complicate these group tableaus!) Perhaps they are all Hobbits Of Another Story, coincidentally in a fellowship with another generic Human, Dwarf and Elf. Or else drawn more faithfully to the book (which I have yet to check) than the film adaptation? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 16:30, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
::But Frodo and Sam separated from the Fellowship before they encountered the Ents.[[User:DaBunny42|DaBunny42]] ([[User talk:DaBunny42|talk]]) 13:34, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
:It is not a third hobbit. It is Gandalf: He is a conjurer of cheap tricks and can normally make himself larger, but the Ents can see right through him. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.231|172.70.250.231]] 06:35, 22 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
Considering Arwens and Ents age, I would actually suspect that yes he totally knows her. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 18:19, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
:My first thought was that, especially with both races having an interest in trees... But then I decided that their opposing views of trees (habitat vs livestock) might have encouraged a natural racial separation, or at least less likely to socially mix over the millenia. (Not that I wrote the text in support of it being a good excuse, I just post-hoc rationalised what I read. ;) ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.211|172.70.85.211]] 19:10, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
*Some major films do even '''worse''' on the Bechdel scale than the ''Lord of the Rings'' films, which at least had three memorable, prominently credited female roles. ''Lawrence of Arabia'' had no actresses credited in the cast list. ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' had no actresses credited in the cast list, nor does IMDb list any uncredited actresses for it. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.33|172.70.178.33]] 19:20, 20 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"...one of the United States' two neighboring countries..." What about Cuba, the Bahamas, Russia, etc.? Just because there is no land border doesn't mean there is no border. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 15:44, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Yeah, it kinda does mean there is no border, at least in those cases. All are well outside the 12 mile zone of territorial sovereignty.[[User:DaBunny42|DaBunny42]] ([[User talk:DaBunny42|talk]]) 00:48, 22 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
::No, the U.S. definitely has borders maritime borders with Cuba, the Bahamas, and Russia. (I can't support the "etc.", however - it's just those three, plus the maritime borders with Canada and (trivially) Mexico as well.) I will fix the text proper.[[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 01:16, 22 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Was the lack of women in the fellowship because of "the cultural biases of the era in which the novels were written", i.e. a novel writing trope? It would it be more accurate to say [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_War_and_Middle-earth the series is influenced by Tolkien's personal experience of fighting on the front lines in World War I.] Women were [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_World_War_I an important part of the war effort,] but were not permitted to fight as soldiers on the front line. If you still want to count that as cultural bias, it would be the war-waging cultural biases of the 1900s/10s that left millions without their fathers, brothers and sons, rather than novel-writing cultural biases of the 1940s. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 19:56, 21 April 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
My initial reaction to the conversation between Treebeard and Aragorn was that Treebeard was about to become angry and possibly violent due to sexual envy, if he suddenly finds out that all other races in Middle Earth are enjoying normal sexual relations with eachother. A less likely outcome would be that Treebeard and his chums are all quite "friendly" with each other, and he might expect similar "favours" from the Fellowship in exchange for the Ents' assistance in fighting Saruman, etc. Or am I reading too much into this strip? [[User:Beechmere|Beechmere]] ([[User talk:Beechmere|talk]]) 05:27, 22 April 2022 (UTC)Beechmere<br />
<br />
Is Rivendell a "real place" in the Lord of the Rings or something that xkcd made up? What is it known for? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.5|172.70.162.5]] 05:36, 22 April 2022 (UTC)</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2606:_Weird_Unicode_Math_Symbols&diff=230290Talk:2606: Weird Unicode Math Symbols2022-04-13T20:45:53Z<p>172.70.250.231: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Apparently, nobody knows what U+237C ⍼ means (https://ionathan.ch/2022/04/09/angzarr.html)</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2603:_Childhood_Toys&diff=2299662603: Childhood Toys2022-04-08T18:10:38Z<p>172.70.250.231: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2603<br />
| date = April 6, 2022<br />
| title = Childhood Toys<br />
| image = childhood_toys.png<br />
| titletext = The rope keeps breaking, I'm covered in bruises and scrapes, and I've barely reached the end of my driveway, but I don't care--I'm determined to become the first person to commute to work by tetherball.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by YOUR BOSS LEAVING WORK BY A SPINLAUNCHER ON A SLIP'N'SLIDE NEXT TO YOUR PARKED HANDMADE ROBODRAGON - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows various objects, ranked by how practical they would be for long-distance transportation. The objects are described as childhood toys.<br />
<br />
The "Practical" panel shows objects designed for convenient transportation, namely {{w|bicycles}} and {{w|Motorized_scooter|electric scooters}}. Most people know how to ride a bicycle, and can easily go several miles on it. Scooters (shown in the comic panel) are also relatively easy to use, and may have a motor allowing them to be used for significant distances — the one shown has the appearance of one with a battery unit rather than being 'leg-propelled', and is named as such in the list for which it has been depicted. These are often not considered "toys", as they have been heavily developed as both adult-sized transportation modes and at a smaller-scale for play by children.<br />
<br />
The "Less Practical" panel has objects designed for transportation, but which may be harder to use than the first panel. {{w|Skateboards}} and {{w|roller skates}}, while designed for transportation, don't work great over long distances or when carrying objects, and {{w|Big Wheel (tricycle)|Big Wheels}} and {{w|unicycles}} (shown in the panel) are simply less practical bikes.<br />
<br />
In the "Impractical" panel are objects that are designed for transportation, but are ''very much not'' designed for convenience, especially over long distances. {{w|Stilts}} are long poles that one stands on to extend their legs; while they increase the user's stride length, it takes quite a bit of practice to use them, especially if they're very long. A {{w|jump rope}} is a rope that the user swings around their body while they jump over it whenever the rope passes below their feet; it doesn't actually provide any transportation by itself, the user is simply hopping to their destination, which is a very tiring way to travel (but very good exercise if you can do it). A {{w|toy wagon|wagon}} has no propulsion of its own, it has to be pulled by the user; parents sometimes use it to transport their children short distances (such as to a playground). Larger wagons are used commercially. A {{w|Pogo stick}} is a pole with a spring at the bottom and a platform for standing on, which can be used to bounce; while fun for bouncing a few yards (as shown in the panel), like the jump rope it would be tiring for long distances.<br />
<br />
The "Very Impractical" panel has objects that may be used for transportation, but to an ''incredibly'' limited degree. {{w|Slip_%27N_Slide|Slip 'N Slides}} (shown in the panel) only work (effectively) downhill, and only where they are placed down. {{w|Trampolines}} and {{w|Tire swing|Tire swings}} could let you go somewhere, but you'd need to set up multiple in a row leading to your destination beforehand. {{w|Hot Wheels}} cars could be put onto the bottom of shoes to create ''extremely'' ill-advised{{citation needed}} improvised rollerskates, but the car on its own has effectively no merit for transportation.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to {{w|tetherball}}, a game found in many playgrounds where a ball is attached to a pole by a long rope. This is also very impractical, as the rope just winds around a stationary pole. It's possible that he is swinging from the rope and letting go (which would explain the bruises and scrapes, as well as the torn rope), but there is no ''remotely'' practical way to use this to commute.{{citation needed}} Nevertheless, if you were able to swing quickly enough and cut the rope at exactly the right moment, you might be able to achieve a short commute to a nearby target. This method may have been inspired by NASA [https://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/news/space/spinlaunch-to-test-suborbital-accelerator-launcher-with-nasa.html purchasing a launch] via the [https://www.spinlaunch.com/ SpinLaunch] rocket system the same week as the comic appeared.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Title:] Childhood Toys<br />
:[Subtitle:] By Practicality for Commuting<br />
<br />
:[Caption of the first box:] Practical<br />
*Bicycle<br />
*Electric Scooter<br />
:[Cueball, wearing a bicycle helmet, drives by on an electric scooter, passing another Cueball and Hairbun, who is holding a briefcase.]<br />
:Scooter Cueball: Hi, boss!<br />
<br />
:[Caption of the second box:] Less Practical<br />
*Skateboard<br />
*Roller Skates<br />
*Big Wheel<br />
*Unicycle<br />
:[Ponytail rides by White Hat on a unicycle.]<br />
:Ponytail: Good Morning!<br />
<br />
:[Caption of the third box:] Impractical<br />
*Stilts<br />
*Jump Rope<br />
*Wagon<br />
*Pogo Stick<br />
:[Cueball bounces past Megan on a pogo stick.]<br />
:Pogo Stick: Boing boing<br />
:Cueball: How's it going?<br />
<br />
:[Caption of the fourth box:] Very Impractical<br />
*Trampoline<br />
*Tire Swing<br />
*Hot Wheels<br />
*Slip 'N Slide<br />
:[Cueball slides past Hairy(?) on a Slip 'N Slide.]<br />
:Cueball: Wheeeee<br />
:Cueball: Hi Boss!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]</div>172.70.250.231https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2595:_Advanced_Techniques&diff=228740Talk:2595: Advanced Techniques2022-03-21T11:52:27Z<p>172.70.250.231: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
The title text refers to [[wikipedia:Noether's theorem|Noether's theorem]]. [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 04:24, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is my first explanation [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 05:41, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This sounds a lot like Laplace or Fourier transforms, converting a function into a different where it is easier to manipulate then reversing the transformation. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.173|108.162.245.173]] 06:28, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:When I was learning to use fourier transforms in EE, they were very straightforwardly (and accurately) described as "transferring the function to the Spectral Domain". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.241|172.70.110.241]] 22:45, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm not sure that it's proper to refer to someone as a "giant" while explaining a comic that references mythological creatures. Unless it was literal of course, but as far as I'm aware giants never existed. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.12|162.158.111.12]] 11:28, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I think she may actually have been a wizard-giant.[[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 13:41, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not my area, but I am passingly familiar with the [[:wikipedia:Gauss–Kuzmin–Wirsing_operator|Gauss–Kuzmin–Wirsing Operator]], [[wikipedia:Dragon curve|Dragon Curves]], and [[wikipedia:Hilbert spaces|Hilbert ''Spaces'']] (guessing that the "arrow" refers to scalar vector?). Some type of iterative/recursive conversion that yields to analysis of the period? Probably not pertinent to the joke which is more about the fanciful names attached to mathematical concepts, constructs, and processes [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.173|108.162.245.173]] 11:53, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I find it inteteresting that despite now being the day after release (or well into the next day, my time, which is usually sufficient — and I'm not in a DST zone yet) the site explanation hasn't explained (or thought it has explained) every single element of the in-comic 'explanation' — even if not established the (probably) nonsensical whole. As an example, I don't yet see the obvious {{w|Dragon_curve|dragon}} element that is both alluded to ''and'' seemingly illustrated upon the board-notes. Leaving this here to help near-future editors who might have time to bullet-point/tabulate/sub-heading these things and just need that extra bit of info. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.125|162.158.159.125]] 15:01, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There is the misquote of Arthur Clarke "All sufficiently advanced [strike]technologies[/strike] mathematical techniques are indistinguishable from magic." [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]])<br />
:Fix it! <br />
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 23:28, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I'm not sure what Arachrah means, because technologies is included in toe original version: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I have corrected the explanation to that and also added link to wiki. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:25, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The explanation should decide whether the teacher is Miss Lenhart, or Blondie. I think it's Miss Lenhart. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 17:02, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:A teaching [[Blondie]] is always Miss Lenhart. It has been corrected before I came here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:25, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
That dragon looks suspiciously like Trogdor...[[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.73|162.158.146.73]]<br />
:It just looks like a normal wyvern to me, though the perspective doesn't give us much detail to help tell those two cases apart. I think if it ''were'' Trogdor though, fewer liberties would have been taken with the shape of the dragon's body. (To be confident we would have to figure out the original problem and use Gauss' operator ourselves to get a more detailed look, which seems difficult.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.11|141.101.104.11]] 16:25, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep" released this week, for D&D 5e. <br />
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 23:28, 19 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Come to think of it, we do use fantasy-sounding expressions in math: e.g. titanic prime, imaginary part, infinite field, ideals, friendly numbers, brute force attack. I'm pretty sure there are many more fun examples.<br />
[[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 04:16, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PS: "Sexy primes" and "latus rectum" are real technical terms.<br />
[[User:Yosei|Yosei]] ([[User talk:Yosei|talk]]) 04:16, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Its weird how this fantastic math have failed to solve the 3n+1 problem. Because I do believe I have solved it within this week. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.55|172.70.246.55]] 18:31, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm glad the wiki format saves old versions of explanations, because it would be a shame if that incomplete notice would be gone forever once the explanation is complete enough. Made me chuckle! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.11|141.101.104.11]] 08:23, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I suspect there's also an aspect of how, if you don't know the mathematical concepts involved, some of these solution methods can seem more like the author is just casting spells. The context that most immediately comes to me is solving integrals with weird techniques that involve mapping to other planes and such. I would say that solving integrals was the first place I really saw creativity being heavily focused on in my math curriculum. [[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 08:43, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
* I couldn't agree more.</div>172.70.250.231