https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=199.27.133.44&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T07:26:02ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1229:_Screensaver&diff=109213Talk:1229: Screensaver2016-01-14T18:39:10Z<p>199.27.133.44: </p>
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<div>This is my first time contributing to the site and my first time posting a comic up. If I've missed something, then please let me know. Thanks. --[[User:James Chin|James Chin]] ([[User talk:James Chin|talk]]) 07:02, 24 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks for your contribution. You did forget to add the comic at the [List of all comics] and the redirect for the title was missing. I've done this right now.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 10:18, 24 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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:Yeah, thanks a lot! Everything is always perfectible <small>(as is my rewording of your explanation)</small>, but your explanation was quite complete on the first shot, and that's the main added value here. So you got the essentials right [[File:Face-smile.svg|18px]] (and you're welcome to do it again on new comics or [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|incomplete ones]]). - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 12:50, 24 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I can't stop thinking that the last panel is not "noise" but a binary coded message/file. It seems just enough compressed/unsharp to make it possible to read out every pixel as a bit, and perhaps there is some kind of "datafile" with error correction? Anybody tought about that? --[[Special:Contributions/217.253.152.222|217.253.152.222]] 07:22, 24 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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In all likelihood, it's a message from an alien race that roughly translates into 'lorum ipsum dolor'<br />
[[Special:Contributions/173.209.116.233|173.209.116.233]] 19:42, 24 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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How do you know it is Cueball who tries to shoot the flying toasters?{{unsigned|87.238.84.65}}<br />
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Why StarTrek? In my experience, in StarTrek the stars are lines instead of dots, therefore the look is different. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:43, 24 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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The Buck Rogers TV series of the late 70s/early 80s had a star field zoom for the closing credits -- the thing about it was that the "stars" would actually hit the screen and get stuck there, rendering it more of a zooming-through-a-snow-storm effect than a naive-traveling-through-space effect. It always bothered me at the time as showing how cheap the show was. I think later I actually came to find the effect rather pretty... <br />
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It's probably quite unlikely to collide with a star like that, wouldn't it be much more likely to pass near enough to enter an orbit?--[[Special:Contributions/62.20.90.206|62.20.90.206]] 14:25, 24 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Anything travelling fast enough for the stars to be moving by like that would have way too much energy to be captured into an orbit around the star. Trajectory altered, yes, but not captured.[[Special:Contributions/24.114.255.99|24.114.255.99]] 15:23, 24 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Technically, the Zapper gun would end up detecting a target, because the gun itself was just a light/darkness binary detector. When you triggered the gun, the videogame displayed for a split second a black/white pattern in the screen so the gun would detect if you were pointing at the target. So eventually the gun would detect the white of the flying toaster (if well aimed) or the black background (if bad aimed) and respond that a duck was hit. -- lvps1000vm [[Special:Contributions/81.34.5.5|81.34.5.5]] 15:20, 24 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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My take was that one of the "stars" went supernova, which you might see if you watched the sky every night for 20 year, and the final panel would be the result of overwhelming radiation.{{unsigned ip|38.125.13.10}}<br />
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Someone is probably writing a program to make the zapper actually usable to shoot down the toasters as we speak. Also, it's somewhat unrelated as I really see no hint of it in the comic, but a screen similar to this screensaver appears at the end of Final Fantasy VII. [[Special:Contributions/93.144.221.197|93.144.221.197]] 17:38, 25 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
:A Zapper that work with the toasters would be good, but what we really need is a starfield screensaver that does what the comic does, ending in a collision with a flaming fireball of awesome. [[User:Hippyjim|Hippyjim]] ([[User talk:Hippyjim|talk]]) 22:06, 25 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I would have to assume that the impetus for this comic came from the recent supermoon on June 23. I would have added that to the explanation, but I'm not sure if speculation (even when it's highly likely) belongs. -- [[User:imvintage|imvintage]] 25 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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:This comic reminds me of a recent post at http://what-if.xkcd.com/47/ (signed: [[Special:Contributions/38.112.155.163|38.112.155.163]] 21:57, 25 June 2013 (UTC))<br />
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:Oh, that SUPERMOON... It's just a gap filler for the press at science sections (even NASA did), but nobody would recognize when looking at the sky. The Moon is always "big" when it's close to the horizon, but this is just a human imagination. My 13% cents. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:42, 25 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Hi there, I would guess instead of the star hitting, the monitor just crashed and that's why the signal was lost. Regards, Roy. [[Special:Contributions/62.206.211.29|62.206.211.29]] 06:51, 27 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Twenty years? That would mean he starting staring at the screen in the 1980s. I would really doubt the starfield screensaver existed then. [[User:Xyz|Xyz]] ([[User talk:Xyz|talk]]) 14:35, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Please check your calender. The current year is 2013, which makes 1993 20 years ago. --[[User:Chtz|Chtz]] ([[User talk:Chtz|talk]]) 14:39, 15 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
::Makes you feel old, doesn't it? [[Special:Contributions/98.20.249.108|98.20.249.108]] 14:17, 19 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::The fact that [[891: Movie Ages|this comic]] came out more than two years ago, makes me feel old. --[[User:Chtz|Chtz]] ([[User talk:Chtz|talk]]) 14:49, 19 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Supernova? Supermoon? Monitor crashed? A signal in the noise? No, No, No and Apophenia. You are viewing the Microsoft Starfield screensaver, apparently flying through a dense field of stars at immense speed. In the screensaver, the idea of colliding with a star is not modeled. In this comic, it is. The star that we are heading towards appears to get larger and larger, and the presence of sunspots makes it clear what we are seeing, and that the star is not itself changing. The final panel depicts what would appear if the screensaver image was not computer-generated, but was actually being transmitted by a camera. When the ship carrying the camera hits the star, the transmission of video will most likely end, hence 'signal lost'. Now, was that so hard? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 18:21, 7 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I think we need to really look in to the fact that the last image had some sort of hidden message on the static [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.44|199.27.133.44]] 18:39, 14 January 2016 (UTC)</div>199.27.133.44https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1597:_Git&diff=1043201597: Git2015-11-02T01:19:37Z<p>199.27.133.44: </p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1597<br />
| date = October 30, 2015<br />
| title = Git<br />
| image = git.png<br />
| titletext = If that doesn't fix it, git.txt contains the phone number of a friend of mine who understands git. Just wait through a few minutes of 'It's really pretty simple, just think of branches as...' and eventually you'll learn the commands that will fix everything.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
<br />
This comic is a play on how {{w|Git (software)|git}}, a popular {{w|Version control|version control}} system, is misused by people who have a very poor understanding of its inner workings. Git is a particularly apt target for such a joke due to its widespread use and the significant discrepancy between its perceived complexity and its simple underlying design. Tutorials for git tend to use simple systems in their examples, and only deal with the most basic commands to get started, which can create the misleading impression that git can be used effectively without extensive study. <br />
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Due to this problem, compounded by the fact that git's commands are named differently from similar commands in other version control systems, many users (including Cueball) are unable to use it beyond basic commands, and might try to avoid problems by saving their code outside git, downloading a newer copy, and then re-applying their changes to the new copy instead of trying to understand and use the features that exist in git to simplify this task.<br />
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Whenever complications arise, for example because one developer has changed code that another developer has already changed, or because of a mistaken attempt to undo a mistake, this behaviour can easily lead to a corrupt repository. To overcome this problem, Cueball suggests that Ponytail keeps an alternative copy of her project outside git which, of course, defeats the purpose of employing a version control system to begin with.<br />
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git.txt in this case refers to a file that this development team has put into the repository, with readme-like instructions in a simple text file. This kind of file is usually helpful for special tasks like creating databases, or dealing with unusual quirks of a project. Its use here is ironic because git should be well understood by developers, as it is a basic tool. Moreover, you have to use git to get the file to be able to read it in the first place.<br />
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Putting a telephone number of someone who "understands git" into such a file is humorous because:<br />
* software teams would more normally use electronic means of communication<br />
* explaining git over the phone to team members should not be necessary, as there is extensive help available online, and<br />
* in the situation where many team members would need phone support to avoid or fix basic git problems, this would be extremely distracting to the person whose phone number was given in the file.<br />
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Git was originally created by {{w|Linus Torvalds}}, the same person who originally created {{w|Linux}}.<br />
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==={{w|Wikipedia:Too long; didn't read|tl;dr}}===<br />
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The explanation above was written by that friend whose name is in git.txt, and gives a good idea of what you need to wait through before he tells you the commands you need. In short: programmers use {{w|Version control|version control systems}} to track changes to code. Most of these version control systems are quite similar and easy to learn if you already know another one. Git is a version control system based on completely different principles, and most programmers find it difficult to wrap their heads around it (although Git also offers a large number of nontrivial benefits over standard version control systems, which is why it is used). Cueball is one of those programmers.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball points to a computer on a desk while Ponytail and Hairy are standing further away behind an office chair.]<br />
:Cueball: This is git. It tracks collaborative work on projects through a beautiful distributed graph theory tree model.<br />
:Ponytail: Cool. How do we use it?<br />
:Cueball: No idea. Just memorize these shell commands and type them to sync up. If you get errors, save your work elsewhere, delete the project, and download a fresh copy.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Programming]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]<br />
[[Category:Internet]]</div>199.27.133.44https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1520:_Degree-Off&diff=92412Talk:1520: Degree-Off2015-05-04T18:06:18Z<p>199.27.133.44: </p>
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<div>I assume "''Your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one." refers to the Manhattan Project? {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.74}}<br />
:Yes [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Chem wants absolutely no part of this conversation. [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are: Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. Is she claiming that her heros have conquered death? [[User:Capncanuck|Capncanuck]] ([[User talk:Capncanuck|talk]]) 06:58, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
: Yeah I didn't get that either. The description as it stands now seems to be implying one of the four horsemen is pestilence, but that's not what my Google search turned up… --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 15:15, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Pestilence [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.176|173.245.56.176]] 07:10, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::In Terry Pratchett's book the fourth horsemen is Pestilence. See also {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}}. It was new to me that it was originally Conquest instead of Pestilence which can be read on wiki: {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Since Randall is a big fan of Terry Pratchett it is very likely that he refers to "his" version of the four Horsemen. (It is not Terry's invention, but he made it popular amongst people like Randall). As I disagree with the Death version of the title text, I'm not sure that Terry is directly refereed to in this comic, but I'm sure the Bilologist refers to them killing of pestilence (or plauge). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC) <br />
::::There are no humanities on stage, so I think bio can get away with this one.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.23|108.162.218.23]] 17:50, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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also a possible reference to: https://xkcd.com/435/ ? {{unsigned ip|141.101.75.101}}<br />
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The stamp collecting quote is from Ernest Rutherford, not Richard Feynman. {{unsigned ip|141.101.70.43}}<br />
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1052 also compares degrees --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.12|141.101.104.12]] 08:36, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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My assumption was that Cueball was giving a long and possibly rambling talk about physics starting with an anecdote about Feynman and ending with one about Rutherford. I didn't consider the quote to be wrongly attributed therefore. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.71}}<br />
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Please be aware that the proper way to link to wikipedia is to use [[Template:w]].--{{User:17jiangz1/signature|10:01, 04 May 2015}}<br />
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This may be Randall's indirect way of saying what he thinks of the anti-vaxxers. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 10:49, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Does the "killing Pestilence" thing also refer to ''Good Omens'' (co-authored by Pratchett), where Pestilence retired in 1936 "mumbling something about penicillin"? Homusubi<br />
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Isn't the comment about vaccines kinda reaching? I don't really see any evidence, even implied, that this comic is referencing the anti-vaccine movement in any way. --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 13:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
:I agree that the anti-vaxer comments are out of place. I don't think they should be included as part of the explanation. [[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]])<br />
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Isn't the biologist talking in the title text? And isn't biology considered a squishy science? I think the title is directed at the physicist, telling him to get harder skin because he's so easily hurt emotionally. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|Yourlifeisalie]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 14:13, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I rather doubt that the CAPS in the title text are referring to Pratchett's figure DEATH. In my opinion, the talking-in-CAPS is just meant to infer (further) SHOUTING on the part of the biologist, since she is shouting in the last panel as well. There is no indication whatsoever that the title text should be spoken by anyone other than the biologist herself.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.180|141.101.104.180]] 14:20, 4 May 2015 (UTC)thd<br />
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Do chemistry and physics represent a helium atom with biology as the nucleus? It would also explain her hair. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:18, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
:I don't see any reason for it to make any sense. It is quite a long shot to think so. However, what explains her hair? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 17:50, 4 May 2015 (UTC)BK201<br />
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Might there also be a reference to https://xkcd.com/520/, praising biology just in case. [[User:Tzwenn|Tzwenn]] ([[User talk:Tzwenn|talk]]) 15:22, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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What is the giant bump in infectious diseases around 1925? It seems like it must have been a mayor effect, but I don't know how to google for it.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.99|141.101.104.99]] 17:43, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:The planet-wide superflu of 1919, which happened because millions decided to go to Europe, camp in filthy trenches for months and then decided to all go back home simultaneously for some reason.</div>199.27.133.44https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1520:_Degree-Off&diff=92411Talk:1520: Degree-Off2015-05-04T18:04:30Z<p>199.27.133.44: </p>
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<div>I assume "''Your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one." refers to the Manhattan Project? {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.74}}<br />
:Yes [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Chem wants absolutely no part of this conversation. [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are: Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. Is she claiming that her heros have conquered death? [[User:Capncanuck|Capncanuck]] ([[User talk:Capncanuck|talk]]) 06:58, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
: Yeah I didn't get that either. The description as it stands now seems to be implying one of the four horsemen is pestilence, but that's not what my Google search turned up… --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 15:15, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Pestilence [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.176|173.245.56.176]] 07:10, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::In Terry Pratchett's book the fourth horsemen is Pestilence. See also {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}}. It was new to me that it was originally Conquest instead of Pestilence which can be read on wiki: {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Since Randall is a big fan of Terry Pratchett it is very likely that he refers to "his" version of the four Horsemen. (It is not Terry's invention, but he made it popular amongst people like Randall). As I disagree with the Death version of the title text, I'm not sure that Terry is directly refereed to in this comic, but I'm sure the Bilologist refers to them killing of pestilence (or plauge). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC) <br />
::::There are no humanities on stage, so I think bio can get away with this one.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.23|108.162.218.23]] 17:50, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
also a possible reference to: https://xkcd.com/435/ ? {{unsigned ip|141.101.75.101}}<br />
<br />
The stamp collecting quote is from Ernest Rutherford, not Richard Feynman. {{unsigned ip|141.101.70.43}}<br />
<br />
1052 also compares degrees --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.12|141.101.104.12]] 08:36, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
My assumption was that Cueball was giving a long and possibly rambling talk about physics starting with an anecdote about Feynman and ending with one about Rutherford. I didn't consider the quote to be wrongly attributed therefore. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.71}}<br />
<br />
Please be aware that the proper way to link to wikipedia is to use [[Template:w]].--{{User:17jiangz1/signature|10:01, 04 May 2015}}<br />
<br />
This may be Randall's indirect way of saying what he thinks of the anti-vaxxers. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 10:49, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does the "killing Pestilence" thing also refer to ''Good Omens'' (co-authored by Pratchett), where Pestilence retired in 1936 "mumbling something about penicillin"? Homusubi<br />
<br />
Isn't the comment about vaccines kinda reaching? I don't really see any evidence, even implied, that this comic is referencing the anti-vaccine movement in any way. --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 13:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
:I agree that the anti-vaxer comments are out of place. I don't think they should be included as part of the explanation. [[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]])<br />
<br />
Isn't the biologist talking in the title text? And isn't biology considered a squishy science? I think the title is directed at the physicist, telling him to get harder skin because he's so easily hurt emotionally. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|Yourlifeisalie]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 14:13, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I rather doubt that the CAPS in the title text are referring to Pratchett's figure DEATH. In my opinion, the talking-in-CAPS is just meant to infer (further) SHOUTING on the part of the biologist, since she is shouting in the last panel as well. There is no indication whatsoever that the title text should be spoken by anyone other than the biologist herself.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.180|141.101.104.180]] 14:20, 4 May 2015 (UTC)thd<br />
<br />
Do chemistry and physics represent a helium atom with biology as the nucleus? It would also explain her hair. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:18, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
:I don't see any reason for it to make any sense. It is quite a long shot to think so. However, what explains her hair? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 17:50, 4 May 2015 (UTC)BK201<br />
<br />
Might there also be a reference to https://xkcd.com/520/, praising biology just in case. [[User:Tzwenn|Tzwenn]] ([[User talk:Tzwenn|talk]]) 15:22, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What is the giant bump in infectious diseases around 1925? It seems like it must have been a mayor effect, but I don't know how to google for it.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.99|141.101.104.99]] 17:43, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The planet-wide superflu of 1919, which happened because millions decided to go to Europe, camp in filthy trenches for months and then decided to all go back home simultaneously for some reason.</div>199.27.133.44https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1484:_Apollo_Speeches&diff=845541484: Apollo Speeches2015-02-16T06:52:51Z<p>199.27.133.44: /* Explanation */ fixed a typo</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1484<br />
| date = February 9, 2015<br />
| title = Apollo Speeches<br />
| image = apollo_speeches.png<br />
| titletext = While our commitment to recycling initiatives has been unwavering, this is not a cost any of us should be expected to pay.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|The framework is laid out. Needs a much more in-depth explanation, however.}}<br />
As explained in the comic, {{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}} staffer {{w|William Safire}} wrote [http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/11/in-event-of-moon-disaster.html two speeches] for the United States President to deliver, depending on whether or not the {{w|Apollo 11}} return launch was successful. When the outcome of an event (moon landing, military actions, etc.) can't be predicted with sufficient certainty, it is a common practice for "[http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/events/centennials/nixon/exhibit/nixon-online-exhibit-disaster.html contingency speeches]" to be prepared.<br />
<br />
The rest of the comic runs with this theme, making the false claim that Safire had written several other such contingency speeches for increasingly unlikely possibilities. First listed are a couple pages from the real contingency speech to be delivered in the event that the astronauts were left stranded on the Moon. Lying on top of that is a speech to be delivered in the case that the spacecraft went missing altogether, which was relatively unlikely. The speeches after that deal with the following highly unlikely or impossible contingencies:<br />
*The astronauts had stolen the ship and piloted it towards Mars, which was clearly not feasible: while the crew could have redirected the ship while sending insulting messages to Earth, the spacecraft lacked the power to fly to Mars within any reasonable period of time by several orders of magnitude or the supplies for the astronauts to survive such an extended trip.<br />
**At the time of production for this strip in 2015, several governments and private companies have designs on Martian colonization.<br />
*More astronauts than expected were found in the recovered ship;<br />
**The appearance of three additional astronauts ventures into the realm of possibility normally reserved for science fiction and Twilight Zone episodes.<br />
*The ship had hit the {{w|USS Hornet (CV-12)|USS ''Hornet''}} and crushed Nixon;<br />
**The U.S.S. Hornet was the ship that recovered the Apollo 11 astronauts after they completed their return mission by landing their command module in the Pacific Ocean; President Nixon himself was on board to greet them upon their return. Apollo 11 famously landed in the Pacific Ocean, and the single ship tasked with its recovery would be a very small target to hit for the technology even if that had been the intent, which it was of course not. Spiro Agnew was, in 1969, Vice President of the United States, and thus next in line for the presidency. This joke plays off the irony of the ship, and indeed President, being hit and triggering a succession, causing "President Agnew" to address the world. <br />
*The re-entry craft had been sold for scrap and crushed along with the astronauts inside.<br />
**Apollo 11 observed a strict quarantine procedure after landing. This possibility requires extraordinary incompetence and unholy zeal for recycling programs. The command module was historically recovered, examined, and is now on permanent display in the {{w|National Air and Space Museum}}. Obviously, the astronauts were allowed to leave the craft before it was put on display.<br />
<br />
The title text builds upon this last contingency speech, delving into the pathos of the horror of the spacecraft's recycling and its passengers' resulting deaths despite the U.S.'s commitment to recycling initiatives.<br />
<br />
Shortly after this comic was released, in that weeks ''What if?'', ''those speeches'' are referenced with a link to this comic. (see [[http://what-if.xkcd.com/129/ Black Hole Moon]]).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Commentary above the speeches.]<br />
:In 1969, Nixon staffer William Safire wrote a speech for the president to deliver if the Apollo 11 return launch failed, stranding the doomed astronauts on the Moon.<br />
:Uncovered in 1999, it is often called the greatest speech never given.<br />
:Today, the ''full'' set of Safire's contingency speeches has been found.<br />
<br />
:'''In event astronauts stranded on Moon'''<br />
:Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace.<br />
:[Here, several lines from the original speech are cut.]<br />
:In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.<br />
:Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the Moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever<br />
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:'''In event spacecraft goes missing'''<br />
:Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins went to the Moon as ambassadors of peace for all mankind, and all mankind prays that they may yet return safely home.<br />
:We are separated from the Moon by a vast gulf of space, against which their tiny vessel appeared as but a drifting speck. For a few brief seconds, we took our eye off them, and despite days of desperate searching, never again was their vessel sighted from Earth.<br />
:While these men are lost, they are not forgotten, and their sacrifice will not<br />
<br />
:'''In even astronauts abscond with spacecraft'''<br />
:We do not know what led Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to betray the trust we placed in them, abandon their mission, and steer their vessel toward Mars. Nor do we know what compelled them to transmit such hurtful messages back to Earth, heaping contempt on their onetime home.<br />
:But whatever the cause of their dereliction, I call upon the United States to commit itself, before this year is out, to launching a mission to chase down Apollo 11 and return its crew to earth to face justice. We must not rest until<br />
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:'''In event spacecraft returns with extra astronauts'''<br />
:While there is much we do not understand, tonight all of earth is united in celebrating the safe return of our brave explorers.<br />
:We of course have many questions, and in the days and weeks to come we will demand answers. How many souls were truly aboard Apollo 11 when it launched? Who are the six men now in quarantine aboard the USS Hornet? What happened<br />
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:'''In event spacecraft hits U.S.S. Hornet, crushing Nixon'''<br />
:'''President Agnew''': Tonight, we have experienced a great national triumph and a great national loss. We take joy in the safe return from the Moon of Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins, but that joy is tempered with sorrow as we mourn our president’s tragic death beneath their wayward capsule.<br />
:Richard Nixon wholeheartedly supported our courageous astronauts as they carried the hopes and prayers of Earth to the heavens, and in the moment of their homecoming, he himself has departed on that ultimate voyage. As we grieve, we must rededicate ourselves to the cause for which our president<br />
<br />
:'''In event spacecraft accidentally sold for scrap and crushed with astronauts inside'''<br />
:My fellow Americans, I am as shocked and appalled as you at this stunning and<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>199.27.133.44