https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Berets&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T17:13:50ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1996:_Morning_News&diff=1577201996: Morning News2018-05-26T03:24:39Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div><noinclude>:''"1996", this comic's number, redirects here. For the comic named "1996", see [[768: 1996]].''</noinclude><br />
{{comic<br />
| number = 1996<br />
| date = May 21, 2018<br />
| title = Morning News<br />
| image = morning_news.png<br />
| titletext = Support your local paper, unless it's just been bought by some sinister hedge fund or something, which it probably has.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Megan]] is complaining to [[Hairbun]] about her easy access to infuriating national news stories and bad opinions (editorial articles and commentary) and worries that it may be having a negative effect on her, perhaps by promoting misinformation, by distraction, or by prompting adverse emotional reaction to content; she muses that, in some way or another, this habit is probably doing some sort of damage to her brain's wiring, training it to think in ways that are not necessarily good. While the capacity of the brain to change and adapt to a person's daily habits is, like most neurological phenomena, as yet not very well understood, it's clear that something of the sort exists--scientists refer to this capacity as "[https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=40362 neuroplasticity]."<br />
<br />
Hairbun sarcastically tells Megan that things were different in her time, implicitly stating that access to infuriating stories via newspapers took only a tiny bit more time and effort during a morning routine compared to accessing them via the Internet.<br />
<br />
Megan counters this idea and says that while it is true that newspapers provided the sort of national news she is being provoked by, they also had much more ''local'' news mixed in (which may be of a lighter nature, sometimes referred to in a derogatory sense as "fluff" news pieces), to which Hairbun agrees.<br />
<br />
Megan also raises the point that bad opinions were not granted wide distribution. Hairbun is rather less quick to agree to this, and suggests that Megan not check that, revealing that Megan’s assertion isn’t entirely true.<br />
<br />
The title text takes another jab at newspapers as a supposedly superior source of news. Supporting your local paper is generally considered a positive action, as it is often the best or only source for local news (national media can't focus on smaller areas, and radio/television often lacks print media's focus on investigative journalism). However, in recent years, many seemingly independent local newspapers in major cities have been bought up by financial groups rather than traditional publishing companies, and their effect on the industry as a whole has been controversial. Most notably, hedge fund groups often attempt to make newspapers profitable by [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-22/the-hard-truth-at-newspapers-across-america-hedge-funds-are-in-charge cutting costs and downsizing], at the expense of quality reporting; critics call such hedge fund groups [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/as-a-secretive-hedge-fund-guts-its-newspapers-journalists-are-fighting-back/2018/04/12/8926a45c-3c10-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.d4e6ff7d3058 "vulture capitalists"] who are throttling newspapers for short-term profit, without any thought of long-term viability or public service. Thus, the standard well-meaning suggestion of supporting your local paper may no longer be good advice.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan, looking on a smartphone in her hand, and Hairbun are standing together and talk.]<br />
:Megan: Every morning, before my eyes even focus all the way, I read a bunch of infuriating national news stories and bad opinions. I wonder what this is doing to my brain.<br />
:Megan: It's probably not great.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in to the head of Hairbun.]<br />
:Hairbun: Back in my day, we had to pay people to '''''print out''''' infuriating news stories and bring them to our door. And we waited until we had stumbled out to the '''''kitchen''''' to read them.<br />
:Hairbun: '''''Totally''''' different.<br />
<br />
:[Frameless panel, zoom out on both while Megan has lowered her hand holding the phone.]<br />
:Megan: OK, fair. But newspapers at least had more local news mixed in, right?<br />
:Hairbun: Yeah, true.<br />
<br />
:[Same as last panel, except it has a border.]<br />
:Megan: I bet they weren't full of bad opinions.<br />
:Hairbun: Yyyyyes.<br />
:Hairbun: All our opinions were good. It was a remarkable time.<br />
:Hairbun: <span style="font-size:90%">Please don't go check.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1996:_Morning_News&diff=1577191996: Morning News2018-05-26T03:22:11Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div><noinclude>:''"1996", this comic's number, redirects here. For the comic named "1996", see [[768: 1996]].''</noinclude><br />
{{comic<br />
| number = 1996<br />
| date = May 21, 2018<br />
| title = Morning News<br />
| image = morning_news.png<br />
| titletext = Support your local paper, unless it's just been bought by some sinister hedge fund or something, which it probably has.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Megan]] is complaining to [[Hairbun]] about her easy access to infuriating national news stories and bad opinions (editorial articles and commentary) and worries that it may be having a negative effect on her, perhaps by promoting misinformation, by distraction, or by prompting adverse emotional reaction to content; she muses that, in some way or another, this habit is probably doing some sort of damage to her brain's wiring, training it to think in ways that are not necessarily good. While the capacity of the brain to change and adapt to a person's daily habits is, like most neurological phenomena, as yet not very well understood, it's clear that something of the sort exists--scientists refer to this capacity as "[https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=40362 neuroplasticity]."<br />
<br />
Hairbun sarcastically tells Megan that things were different in her time, then states how access to infuriating stories via newspapers required only a tiny bit more time and effort during a morning routine.<br />
<br />
Megan counters this idea and says that while it is true that newspapers provided the sort of national news she is being provoked by, they also had much more ''local'' news mixed in (which may be of a lighter nature, sometimes referred to in a derogatory sense as "fluff" news pieces), to which Hairbun agrees.<br />
<br />
Megan also raises the point that bad opinions were not granted wide distribution. Hairbun is rather less quick to agree to this, and suggests that Megan not check that, revealing that Megan’s assertion isn’t entirely true.<br />
<br />
The title text takes another jab at newspapers as a supposedly superior source of news. Supporting your local paper is generally considered a positive action, as it is often the best or only source for local news (national media can't focus on smaller areas, and radio/television often lacks print media's focus on investigative journalism). However, in recent years, many seemingly independent local newspapers in major cities have been bought up by financial groups rather than traditional publishing companies, and their effect on the industry as a whole has been controversial. Most notably, hedge fund groups often attempt to make newspapers profitable by [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-22/the-hard-truth-at-newspapers-across-america-hedge-funds-are-in-charge cutting costs and downsizing], at the expense of quality reporting; critics call such hedge fund groups [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/as-a-secretive-hedge-fund-guts-its-newspapers-journalists-are-fighting-back/2018/04/12/8926a45c-3c10-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html?utm_term=.d4e6ff7d3058 "vulture capitalists"] who are throttling newspapers for short-term profit, without any thought of long-term viability or public service. Thus, the standard well-meaning suggestion of supporting your local paper may no longer be good advice.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan, looking on a smartphone in her hand, and Hairbun are standing together and talk.]<br />
:Megan: Every morning, before my eyes even focus all the way, I read a bunch of infuriating national news stories and bad opinions. I wonder what this is doing to my brain.<br />
:Megan: It's probably not great.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in to the head of Hairbun.]<br />
:Hairbun: Back in my day, we had to pay people to '''''print out''''' infuriating news stories and bring them to our door. And we waited until we had stumbled out to the '''''kitchen''''' to read them.<br />
:Hairbun: '''''Totally''''' different.<br />
<br />
:[Frameless panel, zoom out on both while Megan has lowered her hand holding the phone.]<br />
:Megan: OK, fair. But newspapers at least had more local news mixed in, right?<br />
:Hairbun: Yeah, true.<br />
<br />
:[Same as last panel, except it has a border.]<br />
:Megan: I bet they weren't full of bad opinions.<br />
:Hairbun: Yyyyyes.<br />
:Hairbun: All our opinions were good. It was a remarkable time.<br />
:Hairbun: <span style="font-size:90%">Please don't go check.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1996:_Morning_News&diff=157718Talk:1996: Morning News2018-05-26T03:21:48Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
;Off topic<br />
There is a new What-If available: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/157/ Earth-Moon Fire Pole]. I'm sure you like this breaking news.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:51, 21 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Like this news? I'm ''*ecstatic*''.<br />
:This may explain why today's comic wasn't very funny (or even coherent): Randall put most of his effort into finishing another What-If. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 18:41, 21 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:SQUEEEEEEE!!!!! [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 22:11, 21 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Kids, if a pole is coming at you at supersonic speeds, then first of all, you're going to die. But secondly, if you try to run away, please don't stay in the pole's path. {{unsigned ip|172.69.68.231}}<br />
<br />
;Further discussions<br />
Error: Joke not found. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:35, 21 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Local news<br />
Not sure what Randall means about local news. Most local papers were evening editions of weekly. The mornning paper carried national news.<br />
<br />
Jim Hacker: Don't tell me about the Press. I know *exactly* who reads the papers. The Daily Mirror is read by the people who think they run the country. The Guardian is read by people who think they *ought* to run the country. The Times is read by the people who actually *do* run the country. The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country. The Financial Times is read by people who *own* the country. The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by *another* country. The Daily Telegraph is read by the people who think it is.<br />
<br />
Sir Humphrey: Prime Minister, what about the people who read The Sun?<br />
<br />
Bernard Woolley: Sun readers don't care *who* runs the country - as long as she's got big [widdershins]. {{unsigned|Arachrah}}<br />
<br />
Does this mean that if I read both The Times and The Financial Times I will run the country and own it? Who knew it was so easy! [subscribes to both] ;) [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 16:48, 22 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Reminds me somehow on a book I'm currently reading "QualityLand" by Marc-Uwe Kling (Unfortunately there seems to be no English translation available). The story is set in the not-so-far-future and tries to show the dangers and chances (well, especially the dangers) of the current technological development especially in regard to social media and AI. There are some parallels to "1984" or "Brave New World". Whatever. Printed newspapers ceased to exist. There's however one super-rich guy who bought a printing press and every day his employees print exactly one copy of the current e-print newspaper issue just for him. Which then gets delivered by a boy on a bike. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:31, 23 May 2018 (UTC) <br />
<br />
;"sinister hedge fund"<br />
(This is a rather US-centric cartoon.) In relation to the title text, the explanation talks about media companies, such as Gannett. However, more apposite is cases such as Bay Area News Group (the name referring to the San Francisco Bay Area), which was formed after an East Bay newspaper publisher, McClatchy, snapped up Knight Ridder, a national newspaper chain and rival to Gannett, including its flagship, the ''San Jose Mercury News'', giving it a near-monopoly in the area with the exception of the Hearst Corporation's ''San Francisco Chronicle'', and subsequently sold a bundle of papers including the ''Mercury News'' to {{w|MediaNews Group}} (national, had 56 daily newspapers). There were numerous closures and amalgamations of papers along the way, and since a board takeover in 2010, the ultimate owner has been {{w|Alden Global Capital}}, a hedge fund specializing in "distressed properties". [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 21:16, 22 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I can't think of anything that needs to be added to this explanation, so I removed the "incomplete" tag. Hope that's ok! [[User:Berets|Berets]] ([[User talk:Berets|talk]]) 03:21, 26 May 2018 (UTC)</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1978:_Congressional_Testimony&diff=157717Talk:1978: Congressional Testimony2018-05-26T03:19:54Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
We should change the logs and stuff so it looks like this page was created before the comic came out (say, on 2018-04-07) [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 15:54, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I was about to change the bot to Mark Zuckerberg's terminator double, but somebody was faster. Ah well.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.106|108.162.219.106]] 15:24, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:[carking] that's actually better than what I put. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 15:25, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not sure it has anything to do with the comic, but I think the blob near the top of the tree is a squirrel's nest. You can see the squirrel climbing down the trunk in the 2nd panel, there's something on the left branch in the 3rd panel (squirrel or bird?), and I think the squirrel is climbing back into the nest in the final panel (a tail hanging down from the nest?). [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 16:32, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:That had me curious, too. I think you're right about what you described, and it seems to me it's just a bit of artistic flair.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.172|162.158.255.172]] 14:07, 10 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm still confused about "the phone book becomes skynet". Any thoughts? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 17:54, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:The way I interpreted it, megan is referring to the Facebook glitch that caused it to "turn against its creators", not the actual skynet in the film. She is pointing out that it is ironic that the code running our nuclear launch facilities and robots isn't what is causing the most difficulties, but the code for helping people communicate. I am also reminded of comic [[1539: Planning]], specifically its title text.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.16|162.158.75.16]] 18:21, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Arnold finds Sarah through the phonebook, antics ensue, resulting in parts of Arnold being left behind, which (according to Terminator 2) led to and fed the research and development that became Skynet. If no phonebooks existed - like today - Arnold wouldn't have been able to find Sarah, and wouldn't have left parts which could be found, etc. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:43, 10 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I disagree with this interpretation, which now appears in the explanation as well. Megan is clearly stating that SkyNet did not originate from any weapon or robotic system but instead from the system that provided info sharing to all of the parts of the government. It was only later that it was elevated to the functionality that eventually caused the system to take control of those systems away from the humans and eliminate them. This is a commentary on how this is the same function currently being served by Facebook. It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 22:43, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I came here hoping someone who knows the movies would explain this to me, but I suspect the "phonebook" = Assbook. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 18:17, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
: In the first Terminator, like it says in the explanation, the Terminator (played by Arnold) travels back in time to hunt down Sarah Conner. He finds a phonebook in which he finds 3 Sarah Conners, killing the two others before finally finding the one he was looking for. In the end he gets mostly destroyed. In Terminator 2, a reprogrammed-into-a-good-guy Arnold travels back in time (landing something like 16 years later), and reports that the previous Terminator's arm and CPU chip were found by a company who's been reverse engineering it since, and this research will lead them to creating Skynet (the artificial intelligence who's the primary adversary in the future that's trying to wipe out mankind and created the Terminators to do so). So if the first Arnie hadn't found a phonebook, he wouldn't have been destroyed in a way that would lead to creating Skynet. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:43, 10 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Right now there are 3 (well, 4) listed thoughts on what Randall is trying to say:<br />
<blockquote><br />
It is unclear if Randall is:<br />
*1. Commenting on his lack of interest in the news regarding yet another internet tool being used for purposes for which it was not intended by comparing it to the much more interesting movie "Terminator".<br />
*2. Pointing out that using programs in ways for which they are not originally designed is actually quite common in both reality and fiction.<br />
*3. Pointing out that Facebook stores names and phone numbers and could thus be considered to have a phone book database...<br />
*4. All of the above<br />
</blockquote><br />
My initial interpretation, and what I still find most likely, is None of the above. MY interpretation is that Randall (and for him Megan) is likening this Facebook thing to the phonebook, that it's how a Terminator will now find Sarah Conner and start the cycle portrayed in the movies. Seeing as Randall likes to be fatalistic and paranoid. :) Before this, there haven't been phonebooks any more, so we've accidentally protected ourselves from the events of Terminator, but now with the information leak, if a Terminator travelled back to now, he'd once again be able to get contact information. In fact, wasn't it only a few comics ago where Randall put a Terminator timeline, where he said most people are afraid of the moment AI and killer robots turn on us, while the time HE worries about is the time before that, but after computers are able to MAKE killer robots? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:43, 10 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I agree with you, but with the main point of the comic being that Facebook or a system like it could evolve into a Skynet-like intelligence in the future. I think that's the real concern for him! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:14, 10 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Yes. A phone book is a tool to look up people and make connections. With technological advances, the phone book turns into Facebook. And Facebook itself is the evil Skynet that has turned around to harm humans. In reality it is the business interests of Facebook's management that is selling data of the users. So don't blame the computers. But the analogy makes a good comic. Make no mistake about it. The users of Facebook are not its customers, the users are the product to be sold to the advertisers and others who pay the bills. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:11, 10 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Which is of course not limited to Facebook. There is saying that if you are not paying for something, you are not customer, you are product ... as if paying would protect you from that. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 20:12, 10 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
OK, I've updated the explanation to reflect our general consensus and removed the incomplete tag! This one's done, I think [[User:Berets|Berets]] ([[User talk:Berets|talk]]) 03:19, 26 May 2018 (UTC)</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1978:_Congressional_Testimony&diff=1577161978: Congressional Testimony2018-05-26T03:18:59Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1978<br />
| date = April 9, 2018<br />
| title = Congressional Testimony<br />
| image = congressional_testimony.png<br />
| titletext = James Cameron's Terminator 3 was the REALLY prophetic one. That's why Skynet sent a robot back to the 1990s to prevent him from ever making it, ultimately handing the franchise over to other directors.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are discussing {{w|Facebook}} CEO {{w|Mark Zuckerberg|Mark Zuckerberg's}} upcoming {{w|United States congressional hearing|testimony before Congress}}. The prepared testimony was released on the day this comic was released--see ''[https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/09/congress-released-mark-zuckerbergs-prepared-testimony-ahead-of-wednesdays-hearing.html Congress releases Mark Zuckerberg's prepared testimony ahead of Wednesday's hearing]''. Facebook is facing questions on the {{w|Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal}} involving the collection of personal information of up to 87 million Facebook users by the political targeting firm Cambridge Analytica.<br />
<br />
Megan then starts talking about re-watching ''{{w|The Terminator}}'', a movie about a killer robot called "the Terminator" sent back in time by {{w|Skynet (Terminator)|Skynet}}, a computer system that became self-aware (AI) and tried to kill off humans. The Terminator, played by {{w|Arnold Schwarzenegger}},was sent back to try to kill the mother of the leader of the resistance before he was born. In the movie, the Terminator looked up the mother's name, Sarah Connor, in the {{w|phone book}} of a {{w|phone booth}} to find her address. <br />
<br />
Megan notices how strangely things have turned out in the real world. In the movie it was a nuclear launch system that turned on humans, building humanoid robots to hunt humans down; today, despite the fact that we have computer-controlled nuclear launch systems as well as humanoid robots, it was rather the modern version of said phone book that became our version of Skynet (Facebook). The computer program that tracks our information in a manner similar to a phone book was responsible for doing harm to its users by selling their information (and now it could be said to harm the people who created it, as well, since Zuckerberg is on trial). Cueball can only agree with her how funny things always turn out in retrospect.<br />
<br />
The title text makes the claim that {{w|James Cameron}}, who directed the first two films, was planning to make a third movie in the 1990s, which would have been the really prophetic one (i.e. the one that would have mirrored our present day most closely). Therefore, Skynet, having seen the result of this movie, wished to prevent the movie from ever being made, sending yet another robot back in time to prevent Cameron from directing it. Instead, ''{{w|Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines}}'' was released in 2003 and directed by {{w|Jonathan Mostow}}. Although Cameron is credited for writing it, he only created the characters. Since then two other movies have been made and a third is planned for 2019, all with different directors.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Cueball sitting against a leafless tree; they are on opposite sides.]<br />
:Megan: Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before Congress this week.<br />
:Cueball: Should be interesting.<br />
<br />
:[Beat panel.]<br />
<br />
:Megan: I recently re-watched ''Terminator''.<br />
:Cueball: Yeah?<br />
<br />
:Megan: It's weird that the thing that evolved into Skynet wasn't our nuclear launch systems '''''or''''' our humanoid robots. <br />
:Megan: It was the phone book where the Terminator looked up Sarah Connor's address.<br />
:Cueball: Funny how things turn out.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1978:_Congressional_Testimony&diff=1577151978: Congressional Testimony2018-05-26T03:18:33Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1978<br />
| date = April 9, 2018<br />
| title = Congressional Testimony<br />
| image = congressional_testimony.png<br />
| titletext = James Cameron's Terminator 3 was the REALLY prophetic one. That's why Skynet sent a robot back to the 1990s to prevent him from ever making it, ultimately handing the franchise over to other directors.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Figure out and elaborate on how "Terminator" connects to Mark Zuckerberg's trial and the Facebook scandal.}}<br />
<br />
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are discussing {{w|Facebook}} CEO {{w|Mark Zuckerberg|Mark Zuckerberg's}} upcoming {{w|United States congressional hearing|testimony before Congress}}. The prepared testimony was released on the day this comic was released--see ''[https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/09/congress-released-mark-zuckerbergs-prepared-testimony-ahead-of-wednesdays-hearing.html Congress releases Mark Zuckerberg's prepared testimony ahead of Wednesday's hearing]''. Facebook is facing questions on the {{w|Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal}} involving the collection of personal information of up to 87 million Facebook users by the political targeting firm Cambridge Analytica.<br />
<br />
Megan then starts talking about re-watching ''{{w|The Terminator}}'', a movie about a killer robot called "the Terminator" sent back in time by {{w|Skynet (Terminator)|Skynet}}, a computer system that became self-aware (AI) and tried to kill off humans. The Terminator, played by {{w|Arnold Schwarzenegger}},was sent back to try to kill the mother of the leader of the resistance before he was born. In the movie, the Terminator looked up the mother's name, Sarah Connor, in the {{w|phone book}} of a {{w|phone booth}} to find her address. <br />
<br />
Megan notices how strangely things have turned out in the real world. In the movie it was a nuclear launch system that turned on humans, building humanoid robots to hunt humans down; today, despite the fact that we have computer-controlled nuclear launch systems as well as humanoid robots, it was rather the modern version of said phone book that became our version of Skynet (Facebook). The computer program that tracks our information in a manner similar to a phone book was responsible for doing harm to its users by selling their information (and now it could be said to harm the people who created it, as well, since Zuckerberg is on trial). Cueball can only agree with her how funny things always turn out in retrospect.<br />
<br />
The title text makes the claim that {{w|James Cameron}}, who directed the first two films, was planning to make a third movie in the 1990s, which would have been the really prophetic one (i.e. the one that would have mirrored our present day most closely). Therefore, Skynet, having seen the result of this movie, wished to prevent the movie from ever being made, sending yet another robot back in time to prevent Cameron from directing it. Instead, ''{{w|Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines}}'' was released in 2003 and directed by {{w|Jonathan Mostow}}. Although Cameron is credited for writing it, he only created the characters. Since then two other movies have been made and a third is planned for 2019, all with different directors.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Cueball sitting against a leafless tree; they are on opposite sides.]<br />
:Megan: Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before Congress this week.<br />
:Cueball: Should be interesting.<br />
<br />
:[Beat panel.]<br />
<br />
:Megan: I recently re-watched ''Terminator''.<br />
:Cueball: Yeah?<br />
<br />
:Megan: It's weird that the thing that evolved into Skynet wasn't our nuclear launch systems '''''or''''' our humanoid robots. <br />
:Megan: It was the phone book where the Terminator looked up Sarah Connor's address.<br />
:Cueball: Funny how things turn out.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1978:_Congressional_Testimony&diff=1577141978: Congressional Testimony2018-05-26T03:17:24Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1978<br />
| date = April 9, 2018<br />
| title = Congressional Testimony<br />
| image = congressional_testimony.png<br />
| titletext = James Cameron's Terminator 3 was the REALLY prophetic one. That's why Skynet sent a robot back to the 1990s to prevent him from ever making it, ultimately handing the franchise over to other directors.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Figure out and elaborate on how "Terminator" connects to Mark Zuckerberg's trial and the Facebook scandal.}}<br />
<br />
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are discussing {{w|Facebook}} CEO {{w|Mark Zuckerberg|Mark Zuckerberg's}} upcoming {{w|United States congressional hearing|testimony before Congress}}. The prepared testimony was released on the day this comic was released--see ''[https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/09/congress-released-mark-zuckerbergs-prepared-testimony-ahead-of-wednesdays-hearing.html Congress releases Mark Zuckerberg's prepared testimony ahead of Wednesday's hearing]''. Facebook is facing questions on the {{w|Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal}} involving the collection of personal information of up to 87 million Facebook users by the political targeting firm Cambridge Analytica.<br />
<br />
Megan then starts talking about re-watching ''{{w|The Terminator}}'', a movie about a killer robot called "the Terminator" sent back in time by {{w|Skynet (Terminator)|Skynet}}, a computer system that became self-aware (AI) and tried to kill off humans. The Terminator, played by {{w|Arnold Schwarzenegger}},was sent back to try to kill the mother of the leader of the resistance before he was born. In the movie, the Terminator looked up the mother's name, Sarah Connor, in the {{w|phone book}} of a {{w|phone booth}} to find her address. <br />
<br />
Megan notices that it was weird how things have turned out in the real world. In the movie it was a nuclear launch system that turned on humans, building humanoid robots to hunt humans down; today, despite the fact that we have computer-controlled nuclear launch systems as well as humanoid robots, it was rather the modern version of said phone book that became our version of Skynet (Facebook). The computer program that tracks our information in a manner similar to a phone book was responsible for doing harm to its users by selling their information (and now it could be said to harm the people who created it, as well, since Zuckerberg is on trial). Cueball can only agree with her how funny things always turn out in retrospect.<br />
<br />
The title text makes the claim that {{w|James Cameron}}, who directed the first two films, was planning to make a third movie in the 1990s, which would have been the really prophetic one (i.e. the one that would have mirrored our present day most closely). Therefore, Skynet, having seen the result of this movie, wished to prevent the movie from ever being made, sending yet another robot back in time to prevent Cameron from directing it. Instead, ''{{w|Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines}}'' was released in 2003 and directed by {{w|Jonathan Mostow}}. Although Cameron is credited for writing it, he only created the characters. Since then two other movies have been made and a third is planned for 2019, all with different directors.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Cueball sitting against a leafless tree; they are on opposite sides.]<br />
:Megan: Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before Congress this week.<br />
:Cueball: Should be interesting.<br />
<br />
:[Beat panel.]<br />
<br />
:Megan: I recently re-watched ''Terminator''.<br />
:Cueball: Yeah?<br />
<br />
:Megan: It's weird that the thing that evolved into Skynet wasn't our nuclear launch systems '''''or''''' our humanoid robots. <br />
:Megan: It was the phone book where the Terminator looked up Sarah Connor's address.<br />
:Cueball: Funny how things turn out.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1978:_Congressional_Testimony&diff=1577131978: Congressional Testimony2018-05-26T03:13:39Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1978<br />
| date = April 9, 2018<br />
| title = Congressional Testimony<br />
| image = congressional_testimony.png<br />
| titletext = James Cameron's Terminator 3 was the REALLY prophetic one. That's why Skynet sent a robot back to the 1990s to prevent him from ever making it, ultimately handing the franchise over to other directors.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Figure out and elaborate on how "Terminator" connects to Mark Zuckerberg's trial and the Facebook scandal.}}<br />
<br />
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are discussing {{w|Facebook}} CEO {{w|Mark Zuckerberg|Mark Zuckerberg's}} upcoming {{w|United States congressional hearing|testimony before Congress}}. The prepared testimony was released on the day this comic was released--see ''[https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/09/congress-released-mark-zuckerbergs-prepared-testimony-ahead-of-wednesdays-hearing.html Congress releases Mark Zuckerberg's prepared testimony ahead of Wednesday's hearing]''. Facebook is facing questions on the {{w|Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal}} involving the collection of personal information of up to 87 million Facebook users by the political targeting firm Cambridge Analytica.<br />
<br />
Megan then starts talking about re-watching ''{{w|The Terminator}}'', a movie about a killer robot called "the Terminator" sent back in time by {{w|Skynet (Terminator)|Skynet}}, a computer system that became self-aware (AI) and tried to kill off humans. The Terminator, played by {{w|Arnold Schwarzenegger}},was sent back to try to kill the mother of the leader of the resistance before he was born. In the movie, the Terminator looked up the mother's name, Sarah Connor, in the {{w|phone book}} of a {{w|phone booth}} to find her address. <br />
<br />
Megan notices that it was weird how things have turned out in the real world. In the movie it was a nuclear launch system that turned on humans, building humanoid robots to hunt humans down; today, despite the fact that we have computer-controlled nuclear launch systems as well as humanoid robots, it was rather the modern version of said phone book that became our version of Skynet (Facebook). Cueball can only agree with her how funny things always turn out in retrospect.<br />
<br />
The title text makes the claim that {{w|James Cameron}}, who directed the first two films, was planning to make a third movie in the 1990s, which would have been the really prophetic one (i.e. the one that would have mirrored our present day most closely). Therefore, Skynet, having seen the result of this movie, wished to prevent the movie from ever being made, sending yet another robot back in time to prevent Cameron from directing it. Instead, ''{{w|Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines}}'' was released in 2003 and directed by {{w|Jonathan Mostow}}. Although Cameron is credited for writing it, he only created the characters. Since then two other movies have been made and a third is planned for 2019, all with different directors.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Cueball sitting against a leafless tree; they are on opposite sides.]<br />
:Megan: Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before Congress this week.<br />
:Cueball: Should be interesting.<br />
<br />
:[Beat panel.]<br />
<br />
:Megan: I recently re-watched ''Terminator''.<br />
:Cueball: Yeah?<br />
<br />
:Megan: It's weird that the thing that evolved into Skynet wasn't our nuclear launch systems '''''or''''' our humanoid robots. <br />
:Megan: It was the phone book where the Terminator looked up Sarah Connor's address.<br />
:Cueball: Funny how things turn out.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1974:_Conversational_Dynamics&diff=1577121974: Conversational Dynamics2018-05-26T02:55:57Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1974<br />
| date = March 30, 2018<br />
| title = Conversational Dynamics<br />
| image = conversational_dynamics.png<br />
| titletext = "You should make it so people can search for and jump into hundreds of conversations at once if they want." "Ooh, good idea! I imagine only the most well-informed people with the most critical information to share will use that feature."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
On the modern World Wide Web (usually coined as {{w|Web 2.0}}, in contrast to the {{w|Web_2.0#"Web_1.0"|original web}} envisioned and created by {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}}), particularly on {{w|Internet forum|internet forums}} (like the [http://forums.xkcd.com/ xkcd forums]), a pervasive issue is that forum users with strong opinions but little interest in fruitful discussion will often interject themselves into all conversations that are related to their area of interest; examples include [[:Category:Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorists]], {{w|Political extremism|political extremists}}, and {{w|Internet troll|trolls}}. This counterproductive behavior is not feasible in real life, where conversations happen locally and synchronously and one must be physically present in order to participate. In this sense it is enabled by Internet forum technology. In forums that have search features, it is even easier for these problematic users to identify and target large numbers of threads rapidly. The field of [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25988263 conversational dynamics] studies the interpersonal processes underlying dialog between people, and this is an example of how changing the mode of communication can negatively impact productive "conversational dynamics" (hence the title).<br />
<br />
In this satirical comic, [[Randall]] imagines the inventor of the modern web, here depicted as [[Cueball]], correctly anticipating that anyone will be able to inject their opinion into any conversation. When he tells [[White Hat]] about it, White Hat's comment, either sarcastic or very naive, interprets this as a benefit as he is willing to bet that this will not lead to any ''unhealthy'' [conversational] ''dynamic''. In the best case, naive scenario, the web enables a broader participation by helpful users with relevant information, in the real world it rather turned out as a potential problem as described above with trolls and conspirators overtaking many online forums. Note that in contrast of what the comic depicts, there is no single person or group who created the foundation of the modern web, unlike the original web where there is an identifiable person. <br />
<br />
In the title text White Hat suggest to Cueball to add a search features which will enable these "helpful" users to be even ''more'' helpful by enabling them to jump into not just one conversation at a time, but into hundreds of conversations simultaneously. This may be referring to free, anonymous chat sites like {{w|4Chan}} or possibly {{w|Discord_(software)|Discord}}. Whether White Hat is again sarcastic or just even more naive, Cueball immediately jumps to the conclusion that this will be an even better idea than his own, and continues to envision a system where "only the most well-informed people with the most critical information to share will use that feature." <br />
<br />
In reality, as any modern user of Internet forums would be aware, both of these technologies are routinely abused by problematic users, and the characters are being too optimistic.<br />
<br />
That we today need someone to fight online trolls was the subject of [[591: Troll Slayer]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting at a computer and pointing at the CRT monitor. White Hat is standing behind him.]<br />
:Cueball: Check it out! My new system allows anyone on Earth to inject themselves into any conversation happening anywhere&nbsp; at any time.<br />
:White Hat: Cool! I bet this won't lead to any unhealthy dynamics!<br />
<br />
:[Caption under the panel:]<br />
:The creation of the modern web<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Internet]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1974:_Conversational_Dynamics&diff=1577111974: Conversational Dynamics2018-05-26T02:55:27Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1974<br />
| date = March 30, 2018<br />
| title = Conversational Dynamics<br />
| image = conversational_dynamics.png<br />
| titletext = "You should make it so people can search for and jump into hundreds of conversations at once if they want." "Ooh, good idea! I imagine only the most well-informed people with the most critical information to share will use that feature."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
On the modern World Wide Web (usually coined as {{w|Web 2.0}}, in contrast to the {{w|Web_2.0#"Web_1.0"|original web}} envisioned and created by {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}}), particularly on {{w|Internet forum|internet forums}} (like the [http://forums.xkcd.com/ xkcd forums]), a pervasive issue is that forum users with strong opinions but little interest in fruitful discussion will often interject themselves into all conversations that are related to their area of interest; examples include [[:Category:Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorists]], {{w|Political extremism|political extremists}}, and {{w|Internet troll|trolls}}. This counterproductive behavior is not feasible in real life, where conversations happen locally and synchronously and one must be physically present in order to participate. In this sense it is enabled by Internet forum technology. In forums that have search features, it is even easier for these problematic users to identify and target large numbers of threads rapidly. The field of [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25988263 conversational dynamics] studies the interpersonal processes underlying dialog between people, and this is an example of how changing the mode of communication can negatively impact productive "conversational dynamics" (hence the title).<br />
<br />
In this satirical comic, [[Randall]] imagines the inventor of the modern web, here depicted as [[Cueball]], correctly anticipating that anyone will be able to inject their opinion into any conversation. When he tells [[White Hat]] about it, White Hat's comment, either sarcastic or very naive, interprets this as a benefit as he is willing to bet that this will not lead to any ''unhealthy'' [conversational] ''dynamic''. In the best case, naive scenario, the web enables a broader participation by helpful users with relevant information, in the real world it rather turned out as a potential problem as described above with trolls and conspirators overtaking many online forums. Note that in contrast of what the comic depicts, there is no single person or group who created the foundation of the modern web, unlike the original web where there is an identifiable person. <br />
<br />
In the title text White Hat suggest to Cueball to add a search features which will enable these "helpful" users to be even ''more'' helpful by enabling them to jump into not just one conversation at a time, but into hundreds of conversations simultaneously. This may be referring to free, anonymous chat sites like {{w|4Chan}} or possibly {{w|Discord_(software)|Discord}}. Whether White Hat is again sarcastic or just even more naive, Cueball immediately jumps to the conclusion that this will be an even better idea than his own, and continues to envision a system where "only the most well-informed people with the most critical information to share will use that feature." <br />
<br />
In reality, as any modern user of Internet forums would be aware, both of these technologies are routinely abused by problematic users, and the characters are being too optimistic.<br />
<br />
That we today need someone to fight ''Trolls'' was the subject of [[591: Troll Slayer]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting at a computer and pointing at the CRT monitor. White Hat is standing behind him.]<br />
:Cueball: Check it out! My new system allows anyone on Earth to inject themselves into any conversation happening anywhere&nbsp; at any time.<br />
:White Hat: Cool! I bet this won't lead to any unhealthy dynamics!<br />
<br />
:[Caption under the panel:]<br />
:The creation of the modern web<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Internet]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1974:_Conversational_Dynamics&diff=1577101974: Conversational Dynamics2018-05-26T02:53:28Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1974<br />
| date = March 30, 2018<br />
| title = Conversational Dynamics<br />
| image = conversational_dynamics.png<br />
| titletext = "You should make it so people can search for and jump into hundreds of conversations at once if they want." "Ooh, good idea! I imagine only the most well-informed people with the most critical information to share will use that feature."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
On the modern World Wide Web (usually coined as {{w|Web 2.0}}, in contrast to the {{w|Web_2.0#"Web_1.0"|original web}} envisioned and created by {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}}), particularly on {{w|Internet forum|internet forums}} (like the [http://forums.xkcd.com/ xkcd forums]), a pervasive issue is that forum users with strong opinions but little interest in fruitful discussion will often interject themselves into all conversations that are related to their area of interest; examples include [[:Category:Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorists]], {{w|Political extremism|political extremists}}, and {{w|Internet troll|trolls}}. This counterproductive behavior is not feasible in real life, where conversations happen locally and synchronously and one must be physically present in order to participate. In this sense it is enabled by Internet forum technology. In forums that have search features, it is even easier for these problematic users to identify and target large numbers of threads rapidly. The field of [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25988263 conversational dynamics] studies the interpersonal processes underlying dialog between people, and this is an example of how changing the mode of communication can negatively impact productive "conversational dynamics" (hence the title).<br />
<br />
In this satirical comic, [[Randall]] imagines the inventor of the modern web, here depicted as [[Cueball]], correctly anticipating that anyone will be able to inject their opinion into any conversation. When he tells [[White Hat]] about it, White Hat's comment, either sarcastic or very naive, interprets this as a benefit as he is willing to bet that this will not lead to any ''unhealthy'' [conversational] ''dynamic''. In the best case, naive scenario, the web enables a broader participation by helpful users with relevant information, in the real world it rather turned out as a potential problem as described above with trolls and conspirators overtaking many online forums. Note that in contrast of what the comic depicts, there is no single person or group who created the foundation of the modern web, unlike the original web where there is an identifiable person. <br />
<br />
In the title text White Hat suggest to Cueball to add a search features which will enable these "helpful" users to be even ''more'' helpful by enabling them to jump into not just one conversation at a time, but into hundred conversations simultaneously. This may be referring to free, anonymous chat sites like {{w|4Chan}} or possibly {{w|Discord_(software)|Discord}}. Wether White Hat is again sarcastic or just even more naive Cueball immediately jumps to the conclusion that this will be an even better idea than his own, and continues to envision a system where ''only the most well-informed people with the most critical information to share will use that feature''. This would really be a great system...<br />
<br />
In reality, as any modern user of Internet forums would be aware, both of these technologies are routinely abused by problematic users, and the characters are being too optimistic.<br />
<br />
That we today need someone to fight ''Trolls'' was the subject of [[591: Troll Slayer]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting at a computer and pointing at the CRT monitor. White Hat is standing behind him.]<br />
:Cueball: Check it out! My new system allows anyone on Earth to inject themselves into any conversation happening anywhere&nbsp; at any time.<br />
:White Hat: Cool! I bet this won't lead to any unhealthy dynamics!<br />
<br />
:[Caption under the panel:]<br />
:The creation of the modern web<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Internet]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1974:_Conversational_Dynamics&diff=1577091974: Conversational Dynamics2018-05-26T02:53:06Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1974<br />
| date = March 30, 2018<br />
| title = Conversational Dynamics<br />
| image = conversational_dynamics.png<br />
| titletext = "You should make it so people can search for and jump into hundreds of conversations at once if they want." "Ooh, good idea! I imagine only the most well-informed people with the most critical information to share will use that feature."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a conversationalist: Give examples of the feature mentioned in the title text of how it today is possible to break into hundreds of conversation at once. Link to the field of conversational dynamics needed}}<br />
On the modern World Wide Web (usually coined as {{w|Web 2.0}}, in contrast to the {{w|Web_2.0#"Web_1.0"|original web}} envisioned and created by {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}}), particularly on {{w|Internet forum|internet forums}} (like the [http://forums.xkcd.com/ xkcd forums]), a pervasive issue is that forum users with strong opinions but little interest in fruitful discussion will often interject themselves into all conversations that are related to their area of interest; examples include [[:Category:Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorists]], {{w|Political extremism|political extremists}}, and {{w|Internet troll|trolls}}. This counterproductive behavior is not feasible in real life, where conversations happen locally and synchronously and one must be physically present in order to participate. In this sense it is enabled by Internet forum technology. In forums that have search features, it is even easier for these problematic users to identify and target large numbers of threads rapidly. The field of [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25988263 conversational dynamics] studies the interpersonal processes underlying dialog between people, and this is an example of how changing the mode of communication can negatively impact productive "conversational dynamics" (hence the title).<br />
<br />
In this satirical comic, [[Randall]] imagines the inventor of the modern web, here depicted as [[Cueball]], correctly anticipating that anyone will be able to inject their opinion into any conversation. When he tells [[White Hat]] about it, White Hat's comment, either sarcastic or very naive, interprets this as a benefit as he is willing to bet that this will not lead to any ''unhealthy'' [conversational] ''dynamic''. In the best case, naive scenario, the web enables a broader participation by helpful users with relevant information, in the real world it rather turned out as a potential problem as described above with trolls and conspirators overtaking many online forums. Note that in contrast of what the comic depicts, there is no single person or group who created the foundation of the modern web, unlike the original web where there is an identifiable person. <br />
<br />
In the title text White Hat suggest to Cueball to add a search features which will enable these "helpful" users to be even ''more'' helpful by enabling them to jump into not just one conversation at a time, but into hundred conversations simultaneously. This may be referring to free, anonymous chat sites like {{w|4Chan}} or possibly {{w|Discord_(software)|Discord}}. Wether White Hat is again sarcastic or just even more naive Cueball immediately jumps to the conclusion that this will be an even better idea than his own, and continues to envision a system where ''only the most well-informed people with the most critical information to share will use that feature''. This would really be a great system...<br />
<br />
In reality, as any modern user of Internet forums would be aware, both of these technologies are routinely abused by problematic users, and the characters are being too optimistic.<br />
<br />
That we today need someone to fight ''Trolls'' was the subject of [[591: Troll Slayer]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting at a computer and pointing at the CRT monitor. White Hat is standing behind him.]<br />
:Cueball: Check it out! My new system allows anyone on Earth to inject themselves into any conversation happening anywhere&nbsp; at any time.<br />
:White Hat: Cool! I bet this won't lead to any unhealthy dynamics!<br />
<br />
:[Caption under the panel:]<br />
:The creation of the modern web<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Internet]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1577081904: Research Risks2018-05-26T02:47:56Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world]. See the chart below for detailed explanations of each scatter point.<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people.<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face horror movies] will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.<br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(2017_film) soil samples may contain predatory life forms].<br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution though] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution hardly] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence impossible]) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism historical negationism] || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free. A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill his or her goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_of_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Truth alter history in order to consolidate their power].<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply. <br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: evil robots, nanobots || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up. Apart from supervillains, popular tropes include robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/865:_Nanobots devouring] everything in their path.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modified, super powered minions. Escape: Modified life forms || See {{w|Gene drive}}. Genetic engineering is generally the source of modern monster movie creatures, and the dangers of GMO food are often debated. Meanwhile, it's become common practice for villains to have an army of genetically altered superhumans at their disposal, or an array of useful monsters created via genetic engineering.<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak 1984 Newspeak] || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park isn't exactly good for human survival]. Aside from this possibility, though, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1211:_Birds_and_Dinosaurs the majority] of dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Flood || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text.<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || n/a || Teeth are neither likely to escape on their own, nor terribly useful to villains.<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Man-eating plants || Plants are [http://littleshop.wikia.com/wiki/Audrey_II commonly used] in [http://triffids.guidesite.co.uk/triffids horror films] where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Spores: disease, mind control, etc. || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However, the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1326:_Sharks a tank of sharks] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Escape: predatory birds; pesky invasive species. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Ornithology is the study of birds. The ability to fly makes escape easier for birds than, say, rocks, and it's possible that certain escaped species of birds may threaten the local population directly (by pecking/diving at them) or indirectly (perhaps they're an invasive species, capable of outcompeting native birds and unbalancing the local ecosystem).<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1577071904: Research Risks2018-05-26T02:47:14Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face horror movies] will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.<br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(2017_film) soil samples may contain predatory life forms].<br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution though] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution hardly] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence impossible]) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism historical negationism] || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free. A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill his or her goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_of_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Truth alter history in order to consolidate their power].<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply. <br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: evil robots, nanobots || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up. Apart from supervillains, popular tropes include robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/865:_Nanobots devouring] everything in their path.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modified, super powered minions. Escape: Modified life forms || See {{w|Gene drive}}. Genetic engineering is generally the source of modern monster movie creatures, and the dangers of GMO food are often debated. Meanwhile, it's become common practice for villains to have an army of genetically altered superhumans at their disposal, or an array of useful monsters created via genetic engineering.<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak 1984 Newspeak] || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park isn't exactly good for human survival]. Aside from this possibility, though, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1211:_Birds_and_Dinosaurs the majority] of dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Flood || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text.<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || n/a || Teeth are neither likely to escape on their own, nor terribly useful to villains.<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Man-eating plants || Plants are [http://littleshop.wikia.com/wiki/Audrey_II commonly used] in [http://triffids.guidesite.co.uk/triffids horror films] where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Spores: disease, mind control, etc. || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However, the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1326:_Sharks a tank of sharks] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Escape: predatory birds; pesky invasive species. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Ornithology is the study of birds. The ability to fly makes escape easier for birds than, say, rocks, and it's possible that certain escaped species of birds may threaten the local population directly (by pecking/diving at them) or indirectly (perhaps they're an invasive species, capable of outcompeting native birds and unbalancing the local ecosystem).<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1577061904: Research Risks2018-05-26T02:45:33Z<p>Berets: /* Table */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face horror movies] will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.<br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(2017_film) soil samples may contain predatory life forms].<br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution though] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution hardly] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence impossible]) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism historical negationism] || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free. A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill his or her goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_of_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Truth alter history in order to consolidate their power].<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply. <br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: evil robots, nanobots || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up. Apart from supervillains, popular tropes include robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/865:_Nanobots devouring] everything in their path.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modified, super powered minions. Escape: Modified life forms || See {{w|Gene drive}}. Genetic engineering is generally the source of modern monster movie creatures, and the dangers of GMO food are often debated. Meanwhile, it's become common practice for villains to have an army of genetically altered superhumans at their disposal, or an array of useful monsters created via genetic engineering.<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak 1984 Newspeak] || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park isn't exactly good for human survival]. Aside from this possibility, though, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1211:_Birds_and_Dinosaurs the majority] of dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Flood || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text.<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || n/a || Teeth are neither likely to escape on their own, nor terribly useful to villains.<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Man-eating plants || Plants are [http://littleshop.wikia.com/wiki/Audrey_II commonly used] in [http://triffids.guidesite.co.uk/triffids horror films] where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Spores: disease, mind control, etc. || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However, the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1326:_Sharks a tank of sharks] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Escape: predatory birds; pesky invasive species. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Ornithology is the study of birds. The ability to fly makes escape easier for birds than, say, rocks, and it's possible that certain escaped species of birds may threaten the local population directly (by pecking/diving at them) or indirectly (perhaps they're an invasive species, capable of outcompeting native birds and unbalancing the local ecosystem).<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1577051904: Research Risks2018-05-26T02:39:21Z<p>Berets: /* Table */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face horror movies] will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.<br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(2017_film) soil samples may contain predatory life forms].<br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution though] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution hardly] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence impossible]) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism historical negationism] || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free. A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill his or her goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_of_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Truth alter history in order to consolidate their power].<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply. <br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: evil robots, nanobots || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up. Apart from supervillains, popular tropes include robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/865:_Nanobots devouring] everything in their path.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modified, super powered minions. Escape: Modified life forms || See {{w|Gene drive}}. Genetic engineering is generally the source of modern monster movie creatures, and the dangers of GMO food are often debated. Meanwhile, it's become common practice for villains to have an army of genetically altered superhumans at their disposal, or an array of useful monsters created via genetic engineering.<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak 1984 Newspeak] || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park isn't exactly good for human survival]. Aside from this possibility, though, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1211:_Birds_and_Dinosaurs the majority] of dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Spores: disease, mind control, etc. || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However, the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1326:_Sharks a tank of sharks] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Escape: predatory birds; pesky invasive species. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Ornithology is the study of birds. The ability to fly makes escape easier for birds than, say, rocks, and it's possible that certain escaped species of birds may threaten the local population directly (by pecking/diving at them) or indirectly (perhaps they're an invasive species, capable of outcompeting native birds and unbalancing the local ecosystem).<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1577041904: Research Risks2018-05-26T02:38:38Z<p>Berets: /* Table */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face horror movies] will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.<br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(2017_film) soil samples may contain predatory life forms].<br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution though] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution hardly] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence impossible]) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism historical negationism] || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free. A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill his or her goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_of_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Truth alter history in order to consolidate their power].<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply. <br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: evil robots, nanobots || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up. Apart from supervillains, popular tropes include robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/865:_Nanobots devouring] everything in their path.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modified, super powered minions. Escape: Modified life forms || See {{w|Gene drive}}. Genetic engineering is generally the source of modern monster movie creatures, and the dangers of GMO food are often debated. Meanwhile, it's become common practice for villains to have an army of genetically altered superhumans at their disposal, or an array of useful monsters created via genetic engineering.<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak 1984 Newspeak] || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park isn't exactly good for human survival]. Aside from this possibility, though, [[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1211:_Birds_and_Dinosaurs the majority]] of dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Spores: disease, mind control, etc. || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However, the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1326:_Sharks a tank of sharks]] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Escape: predatory birds; pesky invasive species. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Ornithology is the study of birds. The ability to fly makes escape easier for birds than, say, rocks, and it's possible that certain escaped species of birds may threaten the local population directly (by pecking/diving at them) or indirectly (perhaps they're an invasive species, capable of outcompeting native birds and unbalancing the local ecosystem).<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1577031904: Research Risks2018-05-26T02:37:07Z<p>Berets: /* Table */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face horror movies] will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.<br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(2017_film) soil samples may contain predatory life forms].<br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution though] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution hardly] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence impossible]) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism historical negationism] || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free. A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill his or her goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_of_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Truth alter history in order to consolidate their power].<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply. <br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: evil robots, nanobots || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up. Apart from supervillains, popular tropes include robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/865:_Nanobots devouring] everything in their path.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modified, super powered minions. Escape: Modified life forms || See {{w|Gene drive}}. Genetic engineering is generally the source of modern monster movie creatures, and the dangers of GMO food are often debated. Meanwhile, it's become common practice for villains to have an army of genetically altered superhumans at their disposal, or an array of useful monsters created via genetic engineering.<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak 1984 Newspeak] || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park isn't exactly good for human survival]. Aside from this possibility, though, dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Spores: disease, mind control, etc. || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However, the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1326:_Sharks a tank of sharks]] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Escape: predatory birds; pesky invasive species. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Ornithology is the study of birds. The ability to fly makes escape easier for birds than, say, rocks, and it's possible that certain escaped species of birds may threaten the local population directly (by pecking/diving at them) or indirectly (perhaps they're an invasive species, capable of outcompeting native birds and unbalancing the local ecosystem).<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1577021904: Research Risks2018-05-26T02:32:43Z<p>Berets: /* Table */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face horror movies] will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.<br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(2017_film) soil samples may contain predatory life forms].<br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution though] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution hardly] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence impossible]) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism historical negationism] || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free. A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill his or her goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_of_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Truth alter history in order to consolidate their power].<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply. <br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: evil robots, nanobots || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up. Apart from supervillains, popular tropes include robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/865:_Nanobots devouring] everything in their path.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modify troops to make super powered minions. Escape: Modified life could cause havoc || See {{w|Gene drive}}<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak 1984 Newspeak] || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park isn't exactly good for human survival]. Aside from this possibility, though, dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Spores: disease, mind control, etc. || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However, the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1326:_Sharks a tank of sharks]] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Escape: predatory birds; pesky invasive species. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Ornithology is the study of birds. The ability to fly makes escape easier for birds than, say, rocks, and it's possible that certain escaped species of birds may threaten the local population directly (by pecking/diving at them) or indirectly (perhaps they're an invasive species, capable of outcompeting native birds and unbalancing the local ecosystem).<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1577011904: Research Risks2018-05-26T02:29:39Z<p>Berets: /* Table */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face horror movies] will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.<br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(2017_film) soil samples may contain predatory life forms].<br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution though] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution hardly] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence impossible]) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism historical negationism] || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free. A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill his or her goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_of_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Truth alter history in order to consolidate their power].<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply. <br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and devouring everything in their path. || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modify troops to make super powered minions. Escape: Modified life could cause havoc || See {{w|Gene drive}}<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak 1984 Newspeak] || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park isn't exactly good for human survival]. Aside from this possibility, though, dinosaurs aren't terribly dangerous, being very dead.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Disease, famine, flesh-eating bugs || Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Spores: disease, mind control, etc. || {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}. Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However, the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1326:_Sharks a tank of sharks]] in order to dispose of opposition; however, as the linked comic implies, it is difficult to control what sharks will do (they might simply swim away). Randall implies that it's more likely that marine creatures will escape on their own and threaten local swimmers.<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Escape: predatory birds; pesky invasive species. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Ornithology is the study of birds. The ability to fly makes escape easier for birds than, say, rocks, and it's possible that certain escaped species of birds may threaten the local population directly (by pecking/diving at them) or indirectly (perhaps they're an invasive species, capable of outcompeting native birds and unbalancing the local ecosystem).<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1577001904: Research Risks2018-05-26T02:12:27Z<p>Berets: /* Table */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons. However, there's very little risk of individual prosthetic limbs getting loose and terrorizing people.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || Neuroscience is the study of the human brain. While the greatest risk in this field is the danger that mad scientists will adapt its findings for nefarious purposes, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face horror movies] will attest that there is always a chance that brains will break out of their labs and perpetrate violence of their own accord.<br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}. Lasers, like prosthetics, are unlikely to do much damage without people to wield them, though.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons || Pharmacology studies the effects of medicines and drugs. There are scores of instances where supervillains attempt to use some sort of drug to incapacitate the hero or the general populace. It's possible that a laboratory accident may also result in a new or altered creature which can proceed to go on a rampage.<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || Villains: New materials used for villainous purposes. Escape: new materials turning out to be alive and also evil || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. Alternatively, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(2017_film) soil samples may contain predatory life forms].<br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Tyranny, manipulation. || Sociology studies the development and interactive patterns of human societies. While it's unlikely ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution though] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution hardly] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence impossible]) that societies will "escape" and wreak havoc and destruction, this field is very useful to the supervillain that seeks to ingratiate him/herself with people, or otherwise establish their power via Machiavellian means.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Supplemental research, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_negationism historical negationism] || History mostly consists of artifacts, data and records, which are unlikely to break free. A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain--for example, one might adapt the methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learn from the errors of unsuccessful dictators] to fulfill his or her goals. Alternatively, after achieving dictatorial rule, a villain might [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_of_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Truth alter history in order to consolidate their power].<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Manipulation, Hannibal Lecter || Psychology studies human mentality. It contains the topic of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" (information bytes that do some sort of harm to the viewer--e.g., propaganda) which could "break out" into the local population. The same supervillainous possibilities as sociology apply. <br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and devouring everything in their path. || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modify troops to make super powered minions. Escape: Modified life could cause havoc || See {{w|Gene drive}}<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, mutagens || Villains could obviously use certain chemicals, like nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride, to explode things and wreak general havoc. They could also use unspecified chemicals to modify creatures into monsters to do their bidding, or such monsters could be accidentally produced in a lab, escaping to threaten the locals.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}. Whether the microbes escape on their own (which Randall implies is all-but-inevitable) or are employed by a supervillain, the outcome is similarly horrifying.<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Earthquake machines || Geology is the study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale, since aside from the odd supervillain attempting to [https://ask.metafilter.com/28644/Lex-Luther-vs-the-San-Andreas-faultline cause earthquakes], geology is not highly useful to evildoers. It's also very unlikely that rocks will escape and terrorize the world, since they don't tend to move very much.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak 1984 Newspeak] || Aside from the possibility that people in general or supervillains in particular will create deliberately misleading/manipulative language to achieve their purposes, linguistics doesn't pose too much of a threat.<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs isn't exactly good for human survival.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}|| Study of insects.<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.|| {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep a tank of sharks in order to dispose of opposition; strangely, despite the popularity this is not considered useful for a villain to conquer the world (perhaps because the use of sharks over, say, lions or spikes is purely for semantic reasons).<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Flying is a useful escape mechanism. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Study of birds.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1576991904: Research Risks2018-05-26T01:21:29Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || <br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a person in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons ||<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || New materials used for villainous purposes || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. <br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Sociological research may help in becoming a tyrant and then lead nation to war. ||<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Ministry of Truth; using methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learning from the errors of unsuccessful attempted dictators] || History is mere data and records, which does not "break free". A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Ministry of Truth, Hannibal Lecter || Unlike history, psychology contains the subject of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" which could "break out" into the local population.<br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and devouring everything in their path. || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modify troops to make super powered minions. Escape: Modified life could cause havoc || See {{w|Gene drive}}<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, fast oxidation || General, dangerous things, normally used for destruction, like Nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Golems, Earthquake machines || Study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale despite Lex Luthor's plan in the 1978 ''Superman'' movie hinging on setting off the San Andreas Fault.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || 1984 Newspeak ||<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs isn't exactly good for human survival.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}|| Study of insects.<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.|| {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep a tank of sharks in order to dispose of opposition; strangely, despite the popularity this is not considered useful for a villain to conquer the world (perhaps because the use of sharks over, say, lions or spikes is purely for semantic reasons).<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Flying is a useful escape mechanism. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Study of birds.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1576981904: Research Risks2018-05-26T01:20:56Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (i.e. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[388: [collywobbles] Grapefruit]], [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || <br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a person in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons ||<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || New materials used for villainous purposes || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. <br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Sociological research may help in becoming a tyrant and then lead nation to war. ||<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Ministry of Truth; using methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learning from the errors of unsuccessful attempted dictators] || History is mere data and records, which does not "break free". A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Ministry of Truth, Hannibal Lecter || Unlike history, psychology contains the subject of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" which could "break out" into the local population.<br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and devouring everything in their path. || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modify troops to make super powered minions. Escape: Modified life could cause havoc || See {{w|Gene drive}}<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, fast oxidation || General, dangerous things, normally used for destruction, like Nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Golems, Earthquake machines || Study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale despite Lex Luthor's plan in the 1978 ''Superman'' movie hinging on setting off the San Andreas Fault.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || 1984 Newspeak ||<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs isn't exactly good for human survival.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}|| Study of insects.<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.|| {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep a tank of sharks in order to dispose of opposition; strangely, despite the popularity this is not considered useful for a villain to conquer the world (perhaps because the use of sharks over, say, lions or spikes is purely for semantic reasons).<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Flying is a useful escape mechanism. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Study of birds.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1576971904: Research Risks2018-05-26T01:20:37Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local population (e.g. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[388: [collywobbles] Grapefruit]], [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || <br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a person in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons ||<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || New materials used for villainous purposes || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. <br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Sociological research may help in becoming a tyrant and then lead nation to war. ||<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Ministry of Truth; using methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learning from the errors of unsuccessful attempted dictators] || History is mere data and records, which does not "break free". A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Ministry of Truth, Hannibal Lecter || Unlike history, psychology contains the subject of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" which could "break out" into the local population.<br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and devouring everything in their path. || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modify troops to make super powered minions. Escape: Modified life could cause havoc || See {{w|Gene drive}}<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, fast oxidation || General, dangerous things, normally used for destruction, like Nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Golems, Earthquake machines || Study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale despite Lex Luthor's plan in the 1978 ''Superman'' movie hinging on setting off the San Andreas Fault.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || 1984 Newspeak ||<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs isn't exactly good for human survival.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}|| Study of insects.<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.|| {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep a tank of sharks in order to dispose of opposition; strangely, despite the popularity this is not considered useful for a villain to conquer the world (perhaps because the use of sharks over, say, lions or spikes is purely for semantic reasons).<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Flying is a useful escape mechanism. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Study of birds.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1576961904: Research Risks2018-05-26T01:19:34Z<p>Berets: /* Table */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local/global population (e.g. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[388: [collywobbles] Grapefruit]], [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || <br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut a person in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons ||<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || New materials used for villainous purposes || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. <br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Sociological research may help in becoming a tyrant and then lead nation to war. ||<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Ministry of Truth; using methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learning from the errors of unsuccessful attempted dictators] || History is mere data and records, which does not "break free". A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Ministry of Truth, Hannibal Lecter || Unlike history, psychology contains the subject of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" which could "break out" into the local population.<br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and devouring everything in their path. || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modify troops to make super powered minions. Escape: Modified life could cause havoc || See {{w|Gene drive}}<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, fast oxidation || General, dangerous things, normally used for destruction, like Nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Golems, Earthquake machines || Study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale despite Lex Luthor's plan in the 1978 ''Superman'' movie hinging on setting off the San Andreas Fault.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || 1984 Newspeak ||<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs isn't exactly good for human survival.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}|| Study of insects.<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.|| {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep a tank of sharks in order to dispose of opposition; strangely, despite the popularity this is not considered useful for a villain to conquer the world (perhaps because the use of sharks over, say, lions or spikes is purely for semantic reasons).<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Flying is a useful escape mechanism. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Study of birds.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1904:_Research_Risks&diff=1576951904: Research Risks2018-05-26T01:18:17Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1904<br />
| date = October 18, 2017<br />
| title = Research Risks<br />
| image = research_risks.png<br />
| titletext = The 1919 Great Boston Molasses Flood remained the deadliest confectionery containment accident until the Canadian Space Agency's 2031 orbital maple syrup delivery disaster.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete| Elaborate on the explanations.}}<br />
This is a comparison of the possibility of the subjects of various sciences being a threat to humanity. It can either be an autonomous threat to the local/global population (e.g. by escape from a lab), or as part of a supervillain's scheme to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBkT19uH2RQ rule the world].<br />
<br />
There have so far been several similar comics with such [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plots]]. See for instance [[388: [collywobbles] Grapefruit]], [[1242: Scary Names]], [[1468: Worrying]], [[1501: Mysteries]] and [[1701: Speed and Danger]].<br />
<br />
The title text is related to the Molasses Storage entry at the bottom left of the chart, and references the {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, also known as the Great Boston Molasses Flood. It occurred on January 15, 1919 in the North End neighborhood of {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Massachusetts}} (the state in which [[Randall]] lives). A large {{w|molasses}} storage tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The joke in the title text is that in 2031 (14 years after the release of this comic) the {{w|Canadian Space Agency}} has an even more serious disaster, which will be known as the orbital {{w|maple syrup}} delivery disaster. The title text claims that this disaster then became the deadliest {{w|confectionery}} containment accident, thus killing more than 21 people...<br />
<br />
==Table==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Risk of Breaking Free !! Risk of Supervillain !! Research field !! Research Risks !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 90% || Prosthetics || Cyborgs || A large number of villains in media have had augmentative and non-augmentative prosthetics for various reasons.<br />
|-<br />
| 21% || 83% || Neuroscience || Mind Control || <br />
|-<br />
| 2% || 76% || Laser Optics || Something like {{w|Laser Weapon System}}. Or a powerful laser could be used to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw cut the hero in two] as in {{w|Goldfinger}}. || See {{w|Directed-energy weapon}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 77% || Pharmacology || Poisons ||<br />
|-<br />
| 19% || 69% || Materials Science || New materials used for villainous purposes || Adamantium, Vibranium, Kryptonite, etc. <br />
|-<br />
| 24% || 62% || Sociology || Sociological research may help in becoming a tyrant and then lead nation to war. ||<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 57% || History || Ministry of Truth; using methods of previous successful dictators and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aYrURLHh0 learning from the errors of unsuccessful attempted dictators] || History is mere data and records, which does not "break free". A particular ''subject'' of history, however, can be of use to a supervillain.<br />
|-<br />
| 36% || 53% || Psychology || Ministry of Truth, Hannibal Lecter || Unlike history, psychology contains the subject of "[http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2013/10/memetic-hazard.html memetic hazards]" which could "break out" into the local population.<br />
|-<br />
| 73% || 95% || Robotics || Villains: Robot minions. Escape: robots gaining sentience and killing everything, or nanobots going rogue and devouring everything in their path. || Robots are minions of villains in many occasions, and research on it could be used to further power them up.<br />
|-<br />
| 92% || 90% || Genetic Engineering || Villains: Modify troops to make super powered minions. Escape: Modified life could cause havoc || See {{w|Gene drive}}<br />
|-<br />
| 61% || 77% || Chemistry || Explosives, corrosives, fast oxidation || General, dangerous things, normally used for destruction, like Nitroglycerin or chlorine trifluoride.<br />
|-<br />
| 97% || 81% || Microbiology || Lethal diseases || See for instance {{w|12 Monkeys}}<br />
|-<br />
| 5% || 41% || Geology || Golems, Earthquake machines || Study of rocks. Scores below average on the supervillain scale despite Lex Luthor's plan in the 1978 ''Superman'' movie hinging on setting off the San Andreas Fault.<br />
|-<br />
| 9% || 31% || Linguistics || 1984 Newspeak ||<br />
|-<br />
| 16% || 22% || Paleontology || Reviving dinosaurs and other such prehistoric creatures. || Study of fossils. Reviving dinosaurs isn't exactly good for human survival.<br />
|-<br />
| 6% || 12% || Astronomy || Asteroid impact || A villain could divert an asteroid towards Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| 33% || 12% || Molasses Storage || Breaking free chance is medium low as molasses did "escape" at least once in history. || See {{w|Great Molasses Flood}}, as referenced in the title text<br />
|-<br />
| 7% || 4% || Dentistry || Torture/Interrogation (see for instance [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Man_(film) Marathon Man]) ||<br />
|-<br />
| 70% || 43% || Botany || Audrey II, Triffids || Plants are commonly used in horror films where they mutate and eat everything.<br />
|-<br />
| 93% || 41% || Entomology || Insects are small and can often escape through even small cracks, and are known for carrying diseases. They could also mutate into terrifying threats - see for example the movie {{w|Empire_of_the_Ants_(film)}}|| Study of insects.<br />
|-<br />
| 60% || 33% || Mycology || Fungi cannot move, but their spores could easily spread, therefore, escape probability has been deemed medium high. However the risk of mycology being used for evil has raised strongly with the release of Star Trek Discovery.|| {{w|Mycology}} is the study of {{w|fungi}}.<br />
|-<br />
| 91% || 26% || Marine Biology || Sharknado, Jaws, {{w|Cthulhu}}. || Villains may keep a tank of sharks in order to dispose of opposition; strangely, despite the popularity this is not considered useful for a villain to conquer the world (perhaps because the use of sharks over, say, lions or spikes is purely for semantic reasons).<br />
|-<br />
| 79% || 16% || Ornithology || Flying is a useful escape mechanism. Villains may sometimes keep a bird of prey as a pet. || Study of birds.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note : percentages refer to the position of the center of the smallest enclosing rectangle around each name. 0% and 100% correspond to the low and high arrow tips, respectively.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart with two crossing lines with double arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]<br />
:Y axis top: High<br />
:Y axis bottom: Low<br />
:X axis left: Low<br />
:X axis right: High<br />
<br />
:[Near each of the "high" ends of the two axis there is a label written in gray, with a line pointing to the relevant axis:]<br />
:Y axis: Risk of your research being used by a supervillain for world domination<br />
:X axis: Risk of the thing you're studying breaking free from your facility and threatening the local population<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Prosthetics<br />
:Neuroscience<br />
:Laser Optics<br />
:Pharmacology<br />
:Materials Science<br />
:Sociology<br />
:History<br />
:Psychology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts upper right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Robotics<br />
:Genetic Engineering<br />
:Chemistry<br />
:Microbiology<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower left quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Geology<br />
:Linguistics<br />
:Paleontology<br />
:Astronomy<br />
:Molasses Storage<br />
:Dentistry<br />
<br />
:[The following points are on the charts lower right quadrant (in reading order):]<br />
:Botany<br />
:Entomology<br />
:Mycology<br />
:Marine Biology<br />
:Ornithology<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The comic initially had the erroneous spelling "Entymology" (possibly a mistaken mix-up between etymology and entomology, similar to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). This was later changed to the correct "Entomology".<br />
* The SSL-Certificate of xkcd expired while this comic was online, causing a non-reachability of the site. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1990:_Driving_Cars&diff=1576041990: Driving Cars2018-05-25T01:22:32Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1990<br />
| date = May 7, 2018<br />
| title = Driving Cars<br />
| image = driving_cars.png<br />
| titletext = It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is about how dangerous cars are. [[Cueball]] observes that it is a giant machine, and that he is able to accelerate it up to terrifying speeds simply because he once took a brief driving test. Note that the length and complexity of a driving test varies greatly per country. 20 minutes would be fairly normal for the USA, but much shorter than what is required on most other Western countries. However, it should be noted that you sometimes have to retake the test if your drivers license has expired, so the "just because I took a twenty minute test in high school" part is partially incorrect.<br />
<br />
This is similar to other comics, such as [[1075: Warning]] and [[722: Computer Problems]], where Randall comments on how some of our routine, everyday tasks are quite unusual when viewed from a reductionist perspective. This subject has been covered in the many [[:Category:Self-driving cars|comics about Self-driving cars]]. Although this comic is not directly about such cars, the reference to Cueball steering with his hands could be seen as being in contrast with letting a computer drive (which is [http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/21/technology/self-driving-car-safety/index.html much safer]). The joke is that driving ''is'' in fact one of the top five most common causes of death, yet many (most?) people do not think of driving as an especially "scary" or "dangerous" activity.<br />
<br />
The rest of the joke is in the title text, "It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!" This statement is ironic, drawing attention to the fact that many people ([http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics over 3,000 per day] world-wide, about 100 per day in the USA) do in fact die in car crashes. These statistics indicate that driving ''is'' as dangerous as Cueball thinks it seems; it is not just him perceiving it that way. As a matter of fact, in most regions of the US, automotive accidents are the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 35. It's also worth noting that a difficult-to-estimate number of people die prematurely as a consequence of pollution caused by cars.<br />
<br />
== Trivia ==<br />
A faded Cueball is visible overlapping and to the left of Cueball in the comic picture. This may be a previous draft that Randall drew on top of.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball stands in front of a car holding his hands together in front of him.]<br />
:Cueball: Time to accelerate this giant machine up to terrifying speeds and steer it using my hands, which I am allowed to do because I took a 20-minute test in high school!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Driving freaks me out.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1990:_Driving_Cars&diff=1576031990: Driving Cars2018-05-25T01:21:26Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1990<br />
| date = May 7, 2018<br />
| title = Driving Cars<br />
| image = driving_cars.png<br />
| titletext = It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is about how dangerous cars are. [[Cueball]] observes that it is a giant machine, and that he is able to accelerate it up to terrifying speeds simply because he once took a brief driving test. Note that the length and complexity of a driving test varies greatly per country. 20 minutes would be fairly normal for the USA, but much shorter than what is required on most other Western countries. However, it should be noted that you sometimes have to retake the test if your drivers license has expired, so the "just because I took a twenty minute test in high school" part is partially incorrect.<br />
<br />
This is similar to other comics, such as [[1075: Warning]] and [[722: Computer Problems]], where Randall comments on how some of our routine, everyday tasks are quite unusual when viewed from a reductionist perspective. This subject has been covered in the many [[:Category:Self-driving cars|comics about Self-driving cars]]. Although this comic is not directly about such cars, the reference to Cueball steering with his hands could be seen as being in contrast with letting a computer drive (which is [http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/21/technology/self-driving-car-safety/index.html much safer]). The joke is that driving ''is'' in fact one of the top five most common causes of death, yet many (most?) people do not think of driving as an especially "scary" or "dangerous" activity.<br />
<br />
The rest of the joke is in the title text, "It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!" This could be considered sarcasm, because many people ([http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics over 3,000 per day] world-wide, about 100 per day in the USA) do in fact die in car crashes. These statistics indicate that driving ''is'' as dangerous as Cueball thinks it seems; it is not just him perceiving it that way. As a matter of fact, in most regions of the US, automotive accidents are the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 35. It's also worth noting that a difficult-to-estimate number of people die prematurely as a consequence of pollution caused by cars.<br />
<br />
== Trivia ==<br />
A faded Cueball is visible overlapping and to the left of Cueball in the comic picture. This may be a previous draft that Randall drew on top of.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball stands in front of a car holding his hands together in front of him.]<br />
:Cueball: Time to accelerate this giant machine up to terrifying speeds and steer it using my hands, which I am allowed to do because I took a 20-minute test in high school!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Driving freaks me out.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1990:_Driving_Cars&diff=157602Talk:1990: Driving Cars2018-05-25T01:21:02Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Am I seeing things or is there a slight shadow figure behind cueball? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 17:51, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:You're not seeing things. It's a bigger Cueball, and its colors are colors like F9F9F9 and F8F8F8. [[User:Grabadora304|Grabadora304]] ([[User talk:Grabadora304|talk]]) 18:01, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::That's very odd, someone mentioned this may have been from a draft. Have we seen anything like this before? Does anyone know Randall's actual drawing process? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 19:24, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I saw nothing on my iPad, until I brightened the display to maximum AND zoomed in. Then I saw this faded Cueball to the left of him (not above like the description says, or bigger like Grabadora said here, but the exact same size and exact same pose. If he were in the comic drawn in black, he'd be described as directly behind Cueball). Before I saw it I wondered if Randall draws these on paper then scans them, in which case this could be bleed through from another page behind. But of course it's more likely he draws on a computer. Now that I've seen it... Same size, same pose suggests to me Randall Cut & Pasted Cueball, but his background drawing colour wasn't QUITE white when he did this, so this not-quite-white replaced Cueball where he was, leaving a "ghost" Cueball. EDIT: Okay, checking again, from his ankles to his upper arms, he's the same size, but shoulders and up he's bigger, his neck ending higher and his head bigger. Maybe Randall felt he made the head too big, to put it next to the speech bubble line, so he moved Cueball closer to make the head the right size. I also note the head's circle is more casual, with the ends not meeting, like most people would draw a circle. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:48, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This comic may also be an indirect commentary on the concern some people have about the safety of self-driving cars, which may in fact be more capable of safe driving than someone who took a 20-minute test in high school. Maybe their concern about safety is misplaced! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 19:19, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:We have 10-12 90-minute evening lectures, a 40-minute multiple-choice test, plus 10 mandatory hours of training behind the wheel and a half-hour practical examination, but I'm really not sure to which side ''I'' want to lean with autonomous cars ... ;-) --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.248|141.101.77.248]] 20:08, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::While it varies dramatically by state, I think Randall is generally referencing the licensing practices in the US, which are definitely lax compared to Europe/Australia but probably more stringent than less-developed nations. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 20:38, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::In the state of Colorado, USA, I took a ~5 minute multiple-choice test & a ~12 minute driving test, with no other requirement except possession of a learner's-permit. No driver's education classes, no formal training at all. Just pay the fee, fill the form, take a perfunctory test (drive around the block) & drive away with a license. This was around 1998, if I recall correctly. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 00:22, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Back in 1993, here in Canada, my requirements were a bit more slack than they are now, but stricter than that. I feel like we had to do about 20-30 minutes on the multiple choice theory exam, and the practical felt longer (though the stress might have made it feel long and it only WAS 12 minutes). I know the practical test was rather strict, I failed a couple of times for silly reasons - I remember once the examiner felt the need to show me where my blind spots were, I later realized that I had accidentally developed the habit of using my peripheral vision to check them, to maximize how much I keep my eyes on the road, so when he was watching he missed when I checked them. I know the rules are stricter because they changed them BEFORE I got my license, I was allowed to slip past the new rules because I had my learner's permit before - I know one rule I skipped was that new drivers got probationary licenses for 2 years or until turning 25, whichever came first. I know driving school is mandatory now (you have to register for the driver's test through your school), while I optionally took it, and I took an advanced, extra-safe school called Young Drivers Of Canada. It was something like 10 classroom sessions of I think an hour each, and something like 10 practical lessons in a car of an hour each. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:48, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::In Colorado these days you need to drive with a licensed adult in the car for 50 hours and wait a year once you get the permit before you can take the test, at least if you are under 21 or something. If you want to get the permit before you are 17, I think you need to take a class. These rules are actually really complicated and have like 6 different age groups that all have different requirements. Still not that hard to get a license, you can even fake the 50 hours if you want to. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 04:00, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I'm looking forward to legally using my cellphone while driving, but not to major security vulnerabilities becoming public in my car's firmware. I worry what a distant hacker could find funny. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.142|172.68.54.142]] 01:13, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Some cars can already be turned off on the road or can even have brakes applied. You can hack your car and set the root password to something other than the default, though that doesn't help if the guy in front of you gets hacked. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 04:00, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is the transcript still "incomplete"? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 20:04, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I've removed the tag. But maybe he "rubs his hands"? Any thoughts? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:26, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Anyone know the brand of car? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.65|172.69.33.65]] 20:10, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Looks kind of like a Prius? (Source: absolutely not a car guy in any sense of the term) [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 20:36, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Definitely looks like a Prius to me. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 00:22, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::IDK, I feel like I usually see Priuses depicted shorter, perhaps even two-door (my main reference being Brian's car in Family Guy) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:48, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Look at the triangular window near the front windshield. Some prius's have that, but it is usually smaller or filled in with plastic. I know that some Honda Fits have a window that looks a lot like it, but the back of those cars is flatter than the one in the picture. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 15:18, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Randal used this image (or similar) of a Prius to trace/draw the car: https://www.toyota.com/imgix/responsive/images/mlp/colorizer/2018/prius/3T7/4.png?q=85&fm=jpg&w=1024&fit=max&cs=strip&bg=fff<br />
<br />
While cars are significant source of pollution, it would IMHO be hard to identify anyone dying prematurely just due to them (especially if you want to take JUST cars and not trucks); most likely, it's the total amount of pollution being bigger than your ability to deal with it killing you, not any specific pollution. So I'm pretty sure the joke is in amount of people dying in car accidents.<br />
<br />
And BTW, the reason people generally don't see driving is scary is because 90% of drivers thinks they are in the 10% of best drivers and that accidents only happen to bad drivers, which is both obviously incorrect. Nevertheless, yes, if "having cars" and "not having cars" would be only options, it would be worth it. In reality, we COULD make driving safer by skipping unnecessary trips and by lot of other measures ...<br />
:wrong on two accounts. 1) the statistic you give is “ex rectum” (Latin for “you pulled it out of your [bumfuzzle]”) and 2) the reason more than half of drivers think they are better than average is because there are multiple dimensions on which to evaluate driving skill and different drivers weight those dimensions differently. For example, I weight achieving good fuel economy highly, other drivers weight getting to their destination in the shortest possible time highly. One driver cannot excel on both dimensions at the same time, but if I get good mileage and weigh that highly then I am better than average, and the person who is adept and weaving in and out of traffic is better than the average driver at getting to the destination sooner, and is better than average. Yet, clearly we aren’t both better than average when using the same metric (either fuel economy or time). We are each individually better at the skills we think more important to “good driving” and since our own views of what constitutes a good driver reflects our own strengths rather than weaknesses then naturally more than half of us believe ourselves better than average, because we define what it means to be average.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.153|162.158.62.153]] 04:19, 9 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::That wasn't even SUPPOSED to be statistics and I though it's clear from context fuel economy is not what I'm speaking about. I'm speaking about SAFETY. And while speed is related to safety, I would be surprised if any driver would THINK he is driving dangerously fast, no matter how fast he drivers. (And BTW, you didn't addressed the second point - namely, that no matter how good driver you are, you can still be killed in accident caused by other driver in way you couldn't possibly prevent.) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:19, 9 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
... which reminds me, those big patriotic american cars are actually SAFER than small cars. They consume more oil, but they protect driver better in crash. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:42, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::I'll just [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect leave this right here]. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 13:43, 9 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Which is just unfair for those who cannot afford it, but either dye when run into by these or from their extra pollution... :) See [[677: [Seigmeister]]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:42, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:yet in 2015 more people died in Ford F-150’s than in Toyota Camry’s, Honda Accord’s, Ford Taurus’s and Ford Fusion’s combined.<br />
:Just a note that statistics and data could probably be used to pretty much isolate the decrease in lifespan due to car pollution if you could gather diverse enough deaths data such that things correlated with auto pollution are represented in a fair way. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.16|172.68.54.16]] 22:50, 8 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Actually it seems that Volvo's XC60 is the safest car on the road, based on its performance in crash tests. Apparently no one has died in a crash while driving it, despite 500,000+ sold. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 00:19, 9 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::ugh, you sound like Rush Limbaugh bragging about his “death proof” Mercedes. While the XC60 may be very safe, to extrapolate that it is the “safest car on the road” seems a stretch when there are barely 50,000 on the road. A valid comparison would need to (at the very least) take in to account total vehicle miles driven, and then there is the divide by zero problem of extrapolation when there has been “none” of something. Is car X with 1 death and 100,000 units sold over 4 years less safe than car Y with 0 deaths in 10,000 cars sold over 1 year?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.153|162.158.62.153]] 04:19, 9 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Two things: 1. Sorry, I missed a zero in my previous post, it should be 500,000+. I've edited that, sorry if that caused some confusion. 2. I didn't just look at the number of deaths, the XC60 also performed extremely well in the Euro NCAP crash tests, I did take that into account. And by the way, I was not "bragging" about "death proof cars" (which part of my previous comment sounded even remotely close to bragging?). [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 04:42, 9 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I altered the final paragraph, deleting some of the stuff about pollution so as to more directly address the comic itself--I don't think Randall meant to imply too much about pollution in this particular comic. It seems to be more about the immediate physical danger entailed by the widespread practice of fragile humans driving around at high speeds in large chunks of metal, with less-than-exhaustive training in safely doing so. [[User:Berets|Berets]] ([[User talk:Berets|talk]]) 01:21, 25 May 2018 (UTC)</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1990:_Driving_Cars&diff=1576001990: Driving Cars2018-05-25T01:13:47Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1990<br />
| date = May 7, 2018<br />
| title = Driving Cars<br />
| image = driving_cars.png<br />
| titletext = It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is about how dangerous cars are. [[Cueball]] observes that it is a giant machine, and that he is able to accelerate it up to terrifying speeds simply because he once took a brief driving test. Note that the length and complexity of a driving test varies greatly per country. 20 minutes would be fairly normal for the USA, but much shorter than what is required on most other Western countries. However, it should be noted that you sometimes have to retake the test if your drivers license has expired, so the "just because I took a twenty minute test in high school" part is partially incorrect.<br />
<br />
This is similar to other comics, such as [[1075: Warning]] and [[722: Computer Problems]], where Randall comments on how some of our routine, everyday tasks are quite unusual when viewed from a reductionist perspective. This subject has been covered in the many [[:Category:Self-driving cars|comics about Self-driving cars]]. Although this comic is not directly about such cars, the reference to Cueball steering with his hands could be seen as being in contrast with letting a computer drive (which is [http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/21/technology/self-driving-car-safety/index.html much safer]). The joke is that driving ''is'' in fact one of the top five most common causes of death, yet many (most?) people do not think of driving as an especially "scary" or "dangerous" activity.<br />
<br />
The rest of the joke is in the title text, "It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!" This could be considered sarcasm, because many people ([http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics over 3,000 per day] world-wide, about 100 per day in the USA) do in fact die in car crashes. These statistics indicate that driving ''is'' as dangerous as Cueball thinks it seems; it is not just him perceiving it that way. As a matter of fact in most regions of the US, automotive accidents are the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 35. It's also worth noting that a difficult-to-estimate number of people die prematurely as a consequence of pollution caused by cars.<br />
<br />
== Trivia ==<br />
A faded Cueball is visible overlapping and to the left of Cueball in the comic picture. This may be a previous draft that Randall drew on top of.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball stands in front of a car holding his hands together in front of him.]<br />
:Cueball: Time to accelerate this giant machine up to terrifying speeds and steer it using my hands, which I am allowed to do because I took a 20-minute test in high school!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Driving freaks me out.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1997:_Business_Update&diff=157598Talk:1997: Business Update2018-05-25T01:01:26Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
"Our customers are experiencing rapid growth"<br />
<br />
Literally?<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.184|162.158.38.184]] 18:23, 23 May 2018 (UTC)anon<br />
<br />
:Probably. Also, excited for comic 2000! [[User:StillNotOriginal|S<sup>t<sup>i<sup>l<sup>l</sup></sup></sup></sup><sup>Not</sup>]][[User talk:StillNotOriginal|<sup><sub>Original</sub></sup>]] 18:37, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Panel 2 would suggest that they are making ice (in a fridge?) and that the thermostat glitch caused them to become liquid; additionally that the faucet in the kitchen sink has stopped running. {{unsigned|Richardelguru}}<br />
<br />
The formatting seems odd. Is it just me? (Chrome on mobile) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.95|162.158.103.95]] 20:16, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The title text sounds like some weird Only-in-Beret-Guy-Land variant on a Nigerian Prince scam. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.225|162.158.62.225]] 20:51, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie."<br />
Surely it's simpler than that. They're watching a video feed, and the plot of the Ring is that Samara appears in videos to tell people they're going to die. Their videoconference is cursed, not hacked. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.130|162.158.38.130]] 23:42, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I get the vibe that her contributions are nothing sentient or original, she is literally the recording from the series, and that these "contributions" are still markedly better than whatever their normal meeting fare is.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.48|162.158.106.48]] 01:36, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
''The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR''<br />
<br />
I wonder if this is a reference to the claim that [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-06-20.pdf Native Americans don't have to pay tax] in US? [[User:Sikachu|Sikachu]] ([[User talk:Sikachu|talk]]) 00:28, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think when the comic talks about stocks, it's talking about shares and not pillories. Generally companies have a constant number of stocks, which only changes during some kind of financial restructuring like a split. The idea that they're producing them faster than ever before is therefore absurd. [[User:YM Industries|YM Industries]] ([[User talk:YM Industries|talk]]) 04:55, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Currently the explanation is a bit hard to read. Because everything in the first 2 panels is mentioned as individual sentences within a single paragraph, it makes it hard to add further details on these items. My suggestion is to transform this into a bullet point list or a table. I'd do it myself but I'm new to explainxkcd and don't want to tread on anyone's toes. [[User:YM Industries|YM Industries]] ([[User talk:YM Industries|talk]]) 04:55, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The sink cannot be flooding from the sewers (or, if so, that’s not what stopped); that would not count as ''original'' content. {{unsigned ip|162.158.75.136}}<br />
<br />
::Good point! Fixed! [[User:Berets|Berets]] ([[User talk:Berets|talk]]) 01:00, 25 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Maybe that's just me, but I understand the last part of the title text ("but we should probably still try to fix that.") as related to "that makes me exempt from the GDPR", meaning the team wishes ''not'' to be exempt. That would be in accord with the twisted way of thinking of Beret Guy & Co.<br />
<br />
Also, it's not clear whether some of the things are ment literally, like stocks or growth. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.95|162.158.103.95]] 19:49, 24 May 2018 (UTC)</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1997:_Business_Update&diff=157597Talk:1997: Business Update2018-05-25T01:00:57Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
"Our customers are experiencing rapid growth"<br />
<br />
Literally?<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.184|162.158.38.184]] 18:23, 23 May 2018 (UTC)anon<br />
<br />
:Probably. Also, excited for comic 2000! [[User:StillNotOriginal|S<sup>t<sup>i<sup>l<sup>l</sup></sup></sup></sup><sup>Not</sup>]][[User talk:StillNotOriginal|<sup><sub>Original</sub></sup>]] 18:37, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Panel 2 would suggest that they are making ice (in a fridge?) and that the thermostat glitch caused them to become liquid; additionally that the faucet in the kitchen sink has stopped running. {{unsigned|Richardelguru}}<br />
<br />
The formatting seems odd. Is it just me? (Chrome on mobile) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.95|162.158.103.95]] 20:16, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The title text sounds like some weird Only-in-Beret-Guy-Land variant on a Nigerian Prince scam. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.225|162.158.62.225]] 20:51, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie."<br />
Surely it's simpler than that. They're watching a video feed, and the plot of the Ring is that Samara appears in videos to tell people they're going to die. Their videoconference is cursed, not hacked. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.130|162.158.38.130]] 23:42, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I get the vibe that her contributions are nothing sentient or original, she is literally the recording from the series, and that these "contributions" are still markedly better than whatever their normal meeting fare is.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.48|162.158.106.48]] 01:36, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
''The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR''<br />
<br />
I wonder if this is a reference to the claim that [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-06-20.pdf Native Americans don't have to pay tax] in US? [[User:Sikachu|Sikachu]] ([[User talk:Sikachu|talk]]) 00:28, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think when the comic talks about stocks, it's talking about shares and not pillories. Generally companies have a constant number of stocks, which only changes during some kind of financial restructuring like a split. The idea that they're producing them faster than ever before is therefore absurd. [[User:YM Industries|YM Industries]] ([[User talk:YM Industries|talk]]) 04:55, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Currently the explanation is a bit hard to read. Because everything in the first 2 panels is mentioned as individual sentences within a single paragraph, it makes it hard to add further details on these items. My suggestion is to transform this into a bullet point list or a table. I'd do it myself but I'm new to explainxkcd and don't want to tread on anyone's toes. [[User:YM Industries|YM Industries]] ([[User talk:YM Industries|talk]]) 04:55, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The sink cannot be flooding from the sewers (or, if so, that’s not what stopped); that would not count as ''original'' content. {{unsigned ip|162.158.75.136}}<br />
<br />
::Good point! Fixed![[User:Berets|Berets]] ([[User talk:Berets|talk]]) 01:00, 25 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Maybe that's just me, but I understand the last part of the title text ("but we should probably still try to fix that.") as related to "that makes me exempt from the GDPR", meaning the team wishes ''not'' to be exempt. That would be in accord with the twisted way of thinking of Beret Guy & Co.<br />
<br />
Also, it's not clear whether some of the things are ment literally, like stocks or growth. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.95|162.158.103.95]] 19:49, 24 May 2018 (UTC)</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1997:_Business_Update&diff=157596Talk:1997: Business Update2018-05-25T01:00:07Z<p>Berets: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
"Our customers are experiencing rapid growth"<br />
<br />
Literally?<br />
<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.184|162.158.38.184]] 18:23, 23 May 2018 (UTC)anon<br />
<br />
:Probably. Also, excited for comic 2000! [[User:StillNotOriginal|S<sup>t<sup>i<sup>l<sup>l</sup></sup></sup></sup><sup>Not</sup>]][[User talk:StillNotOriginal|<sup><sub>Original</sub></sup>]] 18:37, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Panel 2 would suggest that they are making ice (in a fridge?) and that the thermostat glitch caused them to become liquid; additionally that the faucet in the kitchen sink has stopped running. {{unsigned|Richardelguru}}<br />
<br />
The formatting seems odd. Is it just me? (Chrome on mobile) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.95|162.158.103.95]] 20:16, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The title text sounds like some weird Only-in-Beret-Guy-Land variant on a Nigerian Prince scam. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.225|162.158.62.225]] 20:51, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie."<br />
Surely it's simpler than that. They're watching a video feed, and the plot of the Ring is that Samara appears in videos to tell people they're going to die. Their videoconference is cursed, not hacked. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.130|162.158.38.130]] 23:42, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I get the vibe that her contributions are nothing sentient or original, she is literally the recording from the series, and that these "contributions" are still markedly better than whatever their normal meeting fare is.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.48|162.158.106.48]] 01:36, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
''The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR''<br />
<br />
I wonder if this is a reference to the claim that [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-06-20.pdf Native Americans don't have to pay tax] in US? [[User:Sikachu|Sikachu]] ([[User talk:Sikachu|talk]]) 00:28, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think when the comic talks about stocks, it's talking about shares and not pillories. Generally companies have a constant number of stocks, which only changes during some kind of financial restructuring like a split. The idea that they're producing them faster than ever before is therefore absurd. [[User:YM Industries|YM Industries]] ([[User talk:YM Industries|talk]]) 04:55, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Currently the explanation is a bit hard to read. Because everything in the first 2 panels is mentioned as individual sentences within a single paragraph, it makes it hard to add further details on these items. My suggestion is to transform this into a bullet point list or a table. I'd do it myself but I'm new to explainxkcd and don't want to tread on anyone's toes. [[User:YM Industries|YM Industries]] ([[User talk:YM Industries|talk]]) 04:55, 24 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The sink cannot be flooding from the sewers (or, if so, that’s not what stopped); that would not count as ''original'' content. {{unsigned ip|162.158.75.136}}<br />
<br />
::Good point! Fixed!<br />
<br />
Maybe that's just me, but I understand the last part of the title text ("but we should probably still try to fix that.") as related to "that makes me exempt from the GDPR", meaning the team wishes ''not'' to be exempt. That would be in accord with the twisted way of thinking of Beret Guy & Co.<br />
<br />
Also, it's not clear whether some of the things are ment literally, like stocks or growth. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.95|162.158.103.95]] 19:49, 24 May 2018 (UTC)</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1997:_Business_Update&diff=1575951997: Business Update2018-05-25T00:59:21Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1997<br />
| date = May 23, 2018<br />
| title = Business Update<br />
| image = business_update.png<br />
| titletext = Our customers keep sending us their personal information, even though we've repeatedly asked them to stop. The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR, but we should probably still try to fix that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THE KITCHEN SINK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows a meeting at Beret Guy's business (as seen in [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|these other comics]]). As usual, those in the business demonstrate a misuse of business terminology and take strange happenings within the business in stride.<br />
<br />
Though maintaining a semblance of business-savviness through the use of many corporate buzzwords, it becomes clear that what is normally metaphorical in a usual boardroom meeting is here quite likely meant literally. The Quarterly Reports, described as "looking good," may be literally physically attractive (rather than recording successful business dealings). Knowing Beret Guy, it seems likely that the office is full of coins or dollar bills, and not simply economically well-off.<br />
<br />
Stocks (as in the stock market, a.k.a. shares) are being manufactured. Stocks are valuable, so from an outside perspective making more of them would create value. However, the humor of this situation is that in real life, creating shares from nothing would reduce the value of existing shares (as the combined value of stocks should add up to the total value of the company... so creating more stocks means each has to be worth less to make the addition balance out). This is ironic in that typically stocks represent the value of the company, rather than being the product being created.<br />
<br />
Individual customers are experiencing physical growth, though most businesses would be more concerned with a growth in the number of customers supporting the business. If the customers are not children they are likely very concerned by this rapid growth.<br />
<br />
Assets liquidated in a thermostat glitch were literally melted (which could also be a reference to [https://thehackernews.com/2018/04/iot-hacking-thermometer.html a hack of a thermostat in a casino that lead to a massive data loss]).<br />
<br />
The kitchen sink producing original content was not generating unique ideas or its own TV shows (commonly called original content), but instead leaking from the faucet. <br />
<br />
It is also worth noting that the "largest source of revenue" may not be producing much if any revenue at all; it can still be the biggest if there are no others. On the other hand, past experience with Beret Guy's business would indicate that this company is [[1032: Networking|making plenty of money]], though they aren't necessarily sure [[1493: Meeting|how]].<br />
<br />
Transmuting lead into gold was a {{w|Nuclear transmutation#Alchemy|goal of alchemists}} for many centuries. With modern nuclear technology, it is actually now possible to accomplish transmutation of lead into gold, and gold into lead. While the expense far exceeds the value of the gold produced by such methods, it seems plausible that, given Beret Guy's surpassing strangeness, his company may be successfully and cheaply transmuting large quantities of lead into gold and back again. Since gold is worth much more than lead in today's market, the first transmutation could indeed result in major profit, while the reverse would obviously result in major losses, and be a rather pointless undertaking for a typical, profit-oriented business.<br />
<br />
In the last panel, "the girl from ''The Ring''" refers to Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of {{w|The Ring (film series)|the ''Ring'' series by Koji Suzuki}}, who has been referenced by xkcd several times in the past as in [[396: The Ring]]. Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie. However, some of Beret Guy's employees then proceed to remark that she has made contributions to the meetings in question, implying that the image of Yamamura is not only alive but sentient and communicating with the employees, a possibility that, if accurate, is accepted with surprising nonchalance by Beret Guy's employees. It's also possible that Yamamura is simply the recording from the series, and her contributions are just in keeping with the general tone of the company's video conferences. Either way, it would appear that Beret Guy's sheer eccentricity has affected his staff to the point that a digital spectre would not be an abnormal employee.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the May 25 deadline to implement the European Union's {{w|GDPR|General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)}}; this comic parodies a business meeting about what the company is doing to prepare for it. However, while normally the problem would be how to handle the customers' personal information that the company requires to retain in order to do business, in this case it seems the company does not require personal information at all, and instead, customers are sending them theirs on their own. Even more bizarrely, Beret Guy was told by the EU (or at least he thinks he was told by the EU) that he is exempt because he is royalty of some kind (though, of course, such exemption is not a real part of GDPR), but he wants to fix this problem anyway, just to be on the safe side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Beret Guy, Ponytail, Hairy, Hairbun and Megan sit around a table, left to right. Beret Guy and Megan are sitting on chairs at the ends. All others are behind the table with no visible chairs. All characters face Beret Guy]<br />
:Beret Guy: Quarterly reports are looking good. <br />
:Beret Guy: Our office is full of cash, we're producing stocks faster than ever before, and our customers are experiencing rapid growth.<br />
:Beret Guy: Any updates?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail, facing left]<br />
:Ponytail: Bad news: many of our assets were liquidated this morning due to a thermostat glitch.<br />
:Ponytail: Good news: the sink in the kitchen has stopped producing original content.<br />
<br />
:[Same as panel one, but characters are facing Megan]<br />
:Beret Guy: How are our finances?<br />
:Megan: Our biggest source of revenue is our ongoing project to transmute lead into gold.<br />
:Megan: Our biggest expense is our project to transmute it back.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Beret Guy, facing right, offset to the left of the panel. Two characters speak from off-panel right]<br />
:Beret Guy: Lastly, any luck getting the girl from ''The Ring'' to stop showing up in our video conferences?<br />
:From Right 1: No, but honestly, she's made some good contributions.<br />
:From Right 2: Yeah, I think we should hire her.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1997:_Business_Update&diff=1575941997: Business Update2018-05-25T00:58:16Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1997<br />
| date = May 23, 2018<br />
| title = Business Update<br />
| image = business_update.png<br />
| titletext = Our customers keep sending us their personal information, even though we've repeatedly asked them to stop. The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR, but we should probably still try to fix that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THE KITCHEN SINK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows a meeting at Beret Guy's business (as seen in [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|these other comics]]). As usual, those in the business demonstrate a misuse of business terminology and take strange happenings within the business in stride.<br />
<br />
Though maintaining a semblance of business-savviness through the use of many corporate buzzwords, it becomes clear that what is normally metaphorical in a usual boardroom meeting is here quite likely meant literally. The Quarterly Reports, described as "looking good," may be literally physically attractive (rather than recording successful business dealings). Knowing Beret Guy, it seems likely that the office is full of coins or dollar bills, and not simply economically well-off.<br />
<br />
Stocks (as in the stock market, a.k.a. shares) are being manufactured. Stocks are valuable, so from an outside perspective making more of them would create value. However, the humor of this situation is that in real life, creating shares from nothing would reduce the value of existing shares (as the combined value of stocks should add up to the total value of the company... so creating more stocks means each has to be worth less to make the addition balance out). This is ironic in that typically stocks represent the value of the company, rather than being the product being created.<br />
<br />
Individual customers are experiencing physical growth, though most businesses would be more concerned with a growth in the number of customers supporting the business. If the customers are not children they are likely very concerned by this rapid growth.<br />
<br />
Assets liquidated in a thermostat glitch were literally melted (which could also be a reference to [https://thehackernews.com/2018/04/iot-hacking-thermometer.html a hack of a thermostat in a casino that lead to a massive data loss]).<br />
<br />
The kitchen sink producing original content was not generating unique ideas or its own TV shows (commonly called original content), but instead leaking from the faucet (or possibly flooding from the sewer). <br />
<br />
It is also worth noting that the "largest source of revenue" may not be producing much if any revenue at all; it can still be the biggest if there are no others. On the other hand, past experience with Beret Guy's business would indicate that this company is [[1032: Networking|making plenty of money]], though they aren't necessarily sure [[1493: Meeting|how]].<br />
<br />
Transmuting lead into gold was a {{w|Nuclear transmutation#Alchemy|goal of alchemists}} for many centuries. With modern nuclear technology, it is actually now possible to accomplish transmutation of lead into gold, and gold into lead. While the expense far exceeds the value of the gold produced by such methods, it seems plausible that, given Beret Guy's surpassing strangeness, his company may be successfully and cheaply transmuting large quantities of lead into gold and back again. Since gold is worth much more than lead in today's market, the first transmutation could indeed result in major profit, while the reverse would obviously result in major losses, and be a rather pointless undertaking for a typical, profit-oriented business.<br />
<br />
In the last panel, "the girl from ''The Ring''" refers to Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of {{w|The Ring (film series)|the ''Ring'' series by Koji Suzuki}}, who has been referenced by xkcd several times in the past as in [[396: The Ring]]. Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie. However, some of Beret Guy's employees then proceed to remark that she has made contributions to the meetings in question, implying that the image of Yamamura is not only alive but sentient and communicating with the employees, a possibility that, if accurate, is accepted with surprising nonchalance by Beret Guy's employees. It's also possible that Yamamura is simply the recording from the series, and her contributions are just in keeping with the general tone of the company's video conferences. Either way, it would appear that Beret Guy's sheer eccentricity has affected his staff to the point that a digital spectre would not be an abnormal employee.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the May 25 deadline to implement the European Union's {{w|GDPR|General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)}}; this comic parodies a business meeting about what the company is doing to prepare for it. However, while normally the problem would be how to handle the customers' personal information that the company requires to retain in order to do business, in this case it seems the company does not require personal information at all, and instead, customers are sending them theirs on their own. Even more bizarrely, Beret Guy was told by the EU (or at least he thinks he was told by the EU) that he is exempt because he is royalty of some kind (though, of course, such exemption is not a real part of GDPR), but he wants to fix this problem anyway, just to be on the safe side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Beret Guy, Ponytail, Hairy, Hairbun and Megan sit around a table, left to right. Beret Guy and Megan are sitting on chairs at the ends. All others are behind the table with no visible chairs. All characters face Beret Guy]<br />
:Beret Guy: Quarterly reports are looking good. <br />
:Beret Guy: Our office is full of cash, we're producing stocks faster than ever before, and our customers are experiencing rapid growth.<br />
:Beret Guy: Any updates?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail, facing left]<br />
:Ponytail: Bad news: many of our assets were liquidated this morning due to a thermostat glitch.<br />
:Ponytail: Good news: the sink in the kitchen has stopped producing original content.<br />
<br />
:[Same as panel one, but characters are facing Megan]<br />
:Beret Guy: How are our finances?<br />
:Megan: Our biggest source of revenue is our ongoing project to transmute lead into gold.<br />
:Megan: Our biggest expense is our project to transmute it back.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Beret Guy, facing right, offset to the left of the panel. Two characters speak from off-panel right]<br />
:Beret Guy: Lastly, any luck getting the girl from ''The Ring'' to stop showing up in our video conferences?<br />
:From Right 1: No, but honestly, she's made some good contributions.<br />
:From Right 2: Yeah, I think we should hire her.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1997:_Business_Update&diff=1575931997: Business Update2018-05-25T00:56:40Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1997<br />
| date = May 23, 2018<br />
| title = Business Update<br />
| image = business_update.png<br />
| titletext = Our customers keep sending us their personal information, even though we've repeatedly asked them to stop. The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR, but we should probably still try to fix that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THE KITCHEN SINK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows a meeting at Beret Guy's business (as seen in [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|these other comics]]). As usual, those in the business demonstrate a misuse of business terminology and take strange happenings within the business in stride.<br />
<br />
Though maintaining a semblance of business-savviness through the use of many corporate buzzwords, it becomes clear that what is normally metaphorical in a usual boardroom meeting is here quite likely meant literally. The Quarterly Reports, described as "looking good," may be literally physically attractive (rather than recording successful business dealings). Knowing Beret Guy, it seems likely that the office is full of coins or dollar bills, and not simply economically well-off.<br />
<br />
Stocks (as in the stock market, a.k.a. shares) are being manufactured. Stocks are valuable, so from an outside perspective making more of them would create value. However, the humor of this situation is that in real life, creating shares from nothing would reduce the value of existing shares (as the combined value of stocks should add up to the total value of the company... so creating more stocks means each has to be worth less to make the addition balance out). This is ironic in that typically stocks represent the value of the company, rather than being the product being created.<br />
<br />
Individual customers are experiencing physical growth, though most businesses would be more concerned with a growth in the number of customers supporting the business. If the customers are not children they are likely very concerned by this rapid growth.<br />
<br />
Assets liquidated in a thermostat glitch were literally melted (which could also be a reference to [https://thehackernews.com/2018/04/iot-hacking-thermometer.html a hack of a thermostat in a casino that lead to a massive data loss]).<br />
<br />
The kitchen sink producing original content was not generating unique ideas or its own TV shows (commonly called original content), but instead leaking from the faucet (or possibly flooding from the sewer). <br />
<br />
It is also worth noting that the "largest source of revenue" may not be producing much if any revenue at all; it can still be the biggest if there are no others. On the other hand, past experience with Beret Guy's business would indicate that this company is [[1032: Networking|making plenty of money]], though they aren't necessarily sure [[1493: Meeting|how]].<br />
<br />
Transmuting lead into gold was a {{w|Nuclear transmutation#Alchemy|goal of alchemists}} for many centuries. With modern nuclear technology, it is actually now possible to accomplish transmutation of lead into gold, and gold into lead. While the expense far exceeds the value of the gold produced by such methods, it seems plausible that, given Beret Guy's surpassing strangeness, his company may be successfully and cheaply transmuting large quantities of lead into gold and back again. Since gold is worth much more than lead in today's market, the first transmutation could indeed result in major profit, while the reverse would obviously result in major losses, and be a rather pointless undertaking for a typical, profit-oriented business.<br />
<br />
In the last panel, "the girl from ''The Ring''" refers to Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of {{w|The Ring (film series)|the ''Ring'' series by Koji Suzuki}}, who has been referenced by xkcd several times in the past as in [[396: The Ring]]. Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie. However, some of Beret Guy's employees then proceed to remark that she has made contributions to the meetings in question, implying that the image of Yamamura is not only alive but sentient and communicating with the employees, a possibility that, if accurate, is accepted with surprising nonchalance by Beret Guy's employees. It's also possible that Yamamura is simply the recording from the series, and her contributions are just in keeping with the general tone of the company's video conferences. Either way, it would appear that Beret Guy's sheer eccentricity has affected his staff to the point that a digital spectre would not be an abnormal employee.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the May 25 deadline to implement the European Union's {{w|GDPR|General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)}}; this comic parodies a business meeting about what the company is doing to prepare for it. However, while normally the problem would be how to handle the customers' personal information that the company requires to retain in order to do business, in this case it seems the company does not require personal information at all, and instead, customers are sending them theirs on their own. Even more bizarrely, Beret Guy was told by the EU (or at least he thinks he was told by the EU) that he is exempt because he is royalty of some kind (though, of course, such exemption is not a real part of GDPR), but he wants to do it anyway, just to be on the safe side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Beret Guy, Ponytail, Hairy, Hairbun and Megan sit around a table, left to right. Beret Guy and Megan are sitting on chairs at the ends. All others are behind the table with no visible chairs. All characters face Beret Guy]<br />
:Beret Guy: Quarterly reports are looking good. <br />
:Beret Guy: Our office is full of cash, we're producing stocks faster than ever before, and our customers are experiencing rapid growth.<br />
:Beret Guy: Any updates?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail, facing left]<br />
:Ponytail: Bad news: many of our assets were liquidated this morning due to a thermostat glitch.<br />
:Ponytail: Good news: the sink in the kitchen has stopped producing original content.<br />
<br />
:[Same as panel one, but characters are facing Megan]<br />
:Beret Guy: How are our finances?<br />
:Megan: Our biggest source of revenue is our ongoing project to transmute lead into gold.<br />
:Megan: Our biggest expense is our project to transmute it back.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Beret Guy, facing right, offset to the left of the panel. Two characters speak from off-panel right]<br />
:Beret Guy: Lastly, any luck getting the girl from ''The Ring'' to stop showing up in our video conferences?<br />
:From Right 1: No, but honestly, she's made some good contributions.<br />
:From Right 2: Yeah, I think we should hire her.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1997:_Business_Update&diff=1575921997: Business Update2018-05-25T00:56:04Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1997<br />
| date = May 23, 2018<br />
| title = Business Update<br />
| image = business_update.png<br />
| titletext = Our customers keep sending us their personal information, even though we've repeatedly asked them to stop. The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR, but we should probably still try to fix that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THE KITCHEN SINK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows a meeting at Beret Guy's business (as seen in [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|these other comics]]). As usual, those in the business demonstrate a misuse of business terminology and take strange happenings within the business in stride.<br />
<br />
Though maintaining a semblance of business-savviness through the use of many corporate buzzwords, it becomes clear that what is normally metaphorical in a usual boardroom meeting is here quite likely meant literally. The Quarterly Reports, described as "looking good," may be literally physically attractive (rather than recording successful business dealings). Knowing Beret Guy, it seems likely that the office is full of coins or dollar bills, and not simply economically well-off.<br />
<br />
Stocks (as in the stock market, a.k.a. shares) are being manufactured. Stocks are valuable, so from an outside perspective making more of them would create value. However, the humor of this situation is that in real life, creating shares from nothing would reduce the value of existing shares (as the combined value of stocks should add up to the total value of the company... so creating more stocks means each has to be worth less to make the addition balance out). This is ironic in that typically stocks represent the value of the company, rather than being the product being created.<br />
<br />
Individual customers are experiencing physical growth, though most businesses would be more concerned with a growth in the number of customers supporting the business. If the customers are not children they are likely very concerned by this rapid growth.<br />
<br />
Assets liquidated in a thermostat glitch were literally melted (which could also be a reference to [https://thehackernews.com/2018/04/iot-hacking-thermometer.html a hack of a thermostat in a casino that lead to a massive data loss]).<br />
<br />
The kitchen sink producing original content was not generating unique ideas or its own TV shows (commonly called original content), but instead leaking from the faucet (or possibly flooding from the sewer). <br />
<br />
It is also worth noting that the "largest source of revenue" may not be producing much if any revenue at all; it can still be the biggest if there are no others. On the other hand, past experience with Beret Guy's business would indicate that this company is [[1032: Networking|making plenty of money]], though they aren't necessarily sure [[1493: Meeting|how]].<br />
<br />
Transmuting lead into gold was a {{w|Nuclear transmutation#Alchemy|goal of alchemists}} for many centuries. It is actually now possible to accomplish transmutation of lead into gold, and gold into lead. While the expense far exceeds the value of the gold produced by such methods, it seems plausible that, given Beret Guy's surpassing strangeness, his company may be successfully and cheaply transmuting large quantities of lead into gold and back again. Since gold is worth much more than lead in today's market, the first transmutation could indeed result in major profit, while the reverse would obviously result in major losses, and be a rather pointless undertaking for a typical, profit-oriented business.<br />
<br />
In the last panel, "the girl from ''The Ring''" refers to Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of {{w|The Ring (film series)|the ''Ring'' series by Koji Suzuki}}, who has been referenced by xkcd several times in the past as in [[396: The Ring]]. Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie. However, some of Beret Guy's employees then proceed to remark that she has made contributions to the meetings in question, implying that the image of Yamamura is not only alive but sentient and communicating with the employees, a possibility that, if accurate, is accepted with surprising nonchalance by Beret Guy's employees. It's also possible that Yamamura is simply the recording from the series, and her contributions are just in keeping with the general tone of the company's video conferences. Either way, it would appear that Beret Guy's sheer eccentricity has affected his staff to the point that a digital spectre would not be an abnormal employee.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the May 25 deadline to implement the European Union's {{w|GDPR|General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)}}; this comic parodies a business meeting about what the company is doing to prepare for it. However, while normally the problem would be how to handle the customers' personal information that the company requires to retain in order to do business, in this case it seems the company does not require personal information at all, and instead, customers are sending them theirs on their own. Even more bizarrely, Beret Guy was told by the EU (or at least he thinks he was told by the EU) that he is exempt because he is royalty of some kind (though, of course, such exemption is not a real part of GDPR), but he wants to do it anyway, just to be on the safe side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Beret Guy, Ponytail, Hairy, Hairbun and Megan sit around a table, left to right. Beret Guy and Megan are sitting on chairs at the ends. All others are behind the table with no visible chairs. All characters face Beret Guy]<br />
:Beret Guy: Quarterly reports are looking good. <br />
:Beret Guy: Our office is full of cash, we're producing stocks faster than ever before, and our customers are experiencing rapid growth.<br />
:Beret Guy: Any updates?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail, facing left]<br />
:Ponytail: Bad news: many of our assets were liquidated this morning due to a thermostat glitch.<br />
:Ponytail: Good news: the sink in the kitchen has stopped producing original content.<br />
<br />
:[Same as panel one, but characters are facing Megan]<br />
:Beret Guy: How are our finances?<br />
:Megan: Our biggest source of revenue is our ongoing project to transmute lead into gold.<br />
:Megan: Our biggest expense is our project to transmute it back.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Beret Guy, facing right, offset to the left of the panel. Two characters speak from off-panel right]<br />
:Beret Guy: Lastly, any luck getting the girl from ''The Ring'' to stop showing up in our video conferences?<br />
:From Right 1: No, but honestly, she's made some good contributions.<br />
:From Right 2: Yeah, I think we should hire her.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1997:_Business_Update&diff=1575511997: Business Update2018-05-24T04:19:57Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1997<br />
| date = May 23, 2018<br />
| title = Business Update<br />
| image = business_update.png<br />
| titletext = Our customers keep sending us their personal information, even though we've repeatedly asked them to stop. The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR, but we should probably still try to fix that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CRABONID DRONE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows a meeting at Beret Guy's business (as seen in [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|these other comics]]). As usual, those in the business demonstrate a misuse of business terminology and take strange happenings within the business in stride.<br />
<br />
Though maintaining a semblance of business-savviness through the use of many corporate buzzwords, it becomes clear that what is normally metaphorical in a usual boardroom meeting is here quite likely meant literally. The Quarterly Reports, described as "looking good," may be literally physically attractive (rather than recording successful business dealings). Knowing Beret Guy, it seems likely that the office is full of coins or dollar bills, and not simply economically well-off. Stocks (pillory?) are being manufactured. Individual customers are experiencing physical growth, though most businesses would be more concerned with a growth in the number of customers supporting the business. Assets liquidated in a thermostat glitch were literally melted; the kitchen sink producing original content was not generating unique ideas, but leaking from the faucet (or possibly flooding from the sewer). It is also worth noting that the "largest source of revenue" may not be producing much if any revenue at all; it can still be the biggest if there are no others. On the other hand, past experience with Beret Guy's business would indicate that this company is [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1032:_Networking making plenty of money], though they aren't necessarily sure [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1493:_Meeting how].<br />
<br />
Transmuting lead into gold was a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Alchemy goal of alchemists] for many centuries. It is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation now possible to accomplish transmutation of lead into gold, and gold into lead, via nuclear transmutation]. (Via modern nuclear methods, it is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Modern_physics far easier to turn gold into lead than the reverse.]) While the expense far exceeds the value of the gold produced by such methods, it seems plausible that, given Beret Guy's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Strange_powers_of_Beret_Guy surpassing strangeness], his company may be successfully and cheaply transmuting large quantities of lead into gold and back again. Since gold is worth much more than lead in today's market, the first transmutation could indeed result in major profit, while the reverse would obviously result in major losses.<br />
<br />
In the last panel, "the girl from ''The Ring''" refers to Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ring_(film_series) the ''Ring'' series by Koji Suzuki], who has been referenced by xkcd several times in the past (for example, in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/396:_The_Ring 396: The Ring]). Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie. However, some of Beret Guy's employees then proceed to remark that she has made contributions to the meetings in question, implying that the image of Yamamura is not only alive but sentient and communicating with the employees, a possibility that, if accurate, is accepted with surprising nonchalance by Beret Guy's employees. It's also possible that Yamamura is simply the recording from the series, and her contributions are just in keeping with the general tone of the company's video conferences. Either way, it would appear that Beret Guy's sheer eccentricity has affected his staff to the point that a digital spectre would not be an abnormal employee.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the May 25 deadline to implement the European Union's {{w|GDPR|General Data Protection Regulation}}; this comic parodies a business meeting about what the company is doing to prepare for it. However, while normally the problem would be how to handle the customers' personal information that the company requires to retain in order to do business, in this case it seems the company does not require personal information at all, and instead, customers are sending them theirs on their own. Even more bizarrely, Beret Guy was told by the EU (or at least he thinks he was told by the EU) that he is exempt because he is royalty of some kind (though, of course, such exemption is not a real part of GDPR), but he wants to do it anyway, just to be on the safe side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Beret Guy, Ponytail, Hairy, Hairbun and Megan sit around a table, left to right. Beret Guy and Megan are sitting on chairs at the ends. All others are behind the table with no visible chairs. All characters face Beret Guy]<br />
:Beret Guy: Quarterly reports are looking good. <br />
:Beret Guy: Our office is full of cash, we're producing stocks faster than ever before, and our customers are experiencing rapid growth.<br />
:Beret Guy: Any Updates?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail, facing left]<br />
:Ponytail: Bad news: many of our assets were liquidated this morning due to a thermostat glitch.<br />
:Ponytail: Good news: the sink in the kitchen has stopped producing original content.<br />
<br />
:[Same as panel one, but characters are facing Megan]<br />
:Beret Guy: How are our finances?<br />
:Megan: Our biggest source of revenue is our ongoing project to transmute lead into gold.<br />
:Megan: Our biggest expense is our project to transmute it back.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Beret Guy, facing right, offset to the left of the panel. Two characters speak from off-panel right]<br />
:Beret Guy: Lastly, any luck getting the girl from ''The Ring'' to stop showing up in our video conferences?<br />
:From Right 1: No, but honestly, she's made some good contributions.<br />
:From Right 2: Yeah, I think we should hire her.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1997:_Business_Update&diff=1575501997: Business Update2018-05-24T04:19:31Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1997<br />
| date = May 23, 2018<br />
| title = Business Update<br />
| image = business_update.png<br />
| titletext = Our customers keep sending us their personal information, even though we've repeatedly asked them to stop. The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR, but we should probably still try to fix that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CRABONID DRONE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows a meeting at Beret Guy's business (as seen in [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|these other comics]]). As usual, those in the business demonstrate a misuse of business terminology and take strange happenings within the business in stride.<br />
<br />
Though maintaining a semblance of business-savviness through the use of many corporate buzzwords, it becomes clear that what is normally metaphorical in a usual boardroom meeting is here quite likely meant literally. The Quarterly Reports, described as "looking good," may be literally physically attractive (rather than recording successful business dealings). Knowing Beret Guy, it seems likely that the office is full of coins or dollar bills, and not simply economically well-off. Stocks (pillory?) are being manufactured. Individual customers are experiencing physical growth, though most businesses would be more concerned with a growth in the number of customers supporting the business. Assets liquidated in a thermostat glitch were literally melted; the kitchen sink producing original content was not generating unique ideas, but leaking from the faucet (or possibly flooding from the sewer). It is also worth noting that the "largest source of revenue" may not be producing much if any revenue at all; it can still be the biggest if there are no others. On the other hand, past experience with Beret Guy's business would indicate that this company is [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1032:_Networking making plenty of money], though they aren't necessarily sure [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1493:_Meeting how].<br />
<br />
Transmuting lead into gold was a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Alchemy goal of alchemists] for many centuries. It is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation now possible to accomplish transmutation of lead into gold, and gold into lead, via nuclear transmutation]. (Via modern nuclear methods, it is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Modern_physics far easier to turn gold into lead than the reverse.]) While the expense far exceeds the value of the gold produced by such methods, it seems plausible that, given Beret Guy's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Strange_powers_of_Beret_Guy surpassing strangeness], his company may be successfully and cheaply transmuting large quantities of lead into gold and back again. Since gold is worth much more than lead in today's market, the first transmutation could indeed result in major profit, while the reverse would obviously result in major losses.<br />
<br />
In the last panel, "the girl from ''The Ring''" refers to Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ring_(film_series) the ''Ring'' series by Koji Suzuki], who has been referenced by xkcd several times in the past, for example, in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/396:_The_Ring 396: The Ring]. Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie. However, some of Beret Guy's employees then proceed to remark that she has made contributions to the meetings in question, implying that the image of Yamamura is not only alive but sentient and communicating with the employees, a possibility that, if accurate, is accepted with surprising nonchalance by Beret Guy's employees. It's also possible that Yamamura is simply the recording from the series, and her contributions are just in keeping with the general tone of the company's video conferences. Either way, it would appear that Beret Guy's sheer eccentricity has affected his staff to the point that a digital spectre would not be an abnormal employee.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the May 25 deadline to implement the European Union's {{w|GDPR|General Data Protection Regulation}}; this comic parodies a business meeting about what the company is doing to prepare for it. However, while normally the problem would be how to handle the customers' personal information that the company requires to retain in order to do business, in this case it seems the company does not require personal information at all, and instead, customers are sending them theirs on their own. Even more bizarrely, Beret Guy was told by the EU (or at least he thinks he was told by the EU) that he is exempt because he is royalty of some kind (though, of course, such exemption is not a real part of GDPR), but he wants to do it anyway, just to be on the safe side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Beret Guy, Ponytail, Hairy, Hairbun and Megan sit around a table, left to right. Beret Guy and Megan are sitting on chairs at the ends. All others are behind the table with no visible chairs. All characters face Beret Guy]<br />
:Beret Guy: Quarterly reports are looking good. <br />
:Beret Guy: Our office is full of cash, we're producing stocks faster than ever before, and our customers are experiencing rapid growth.<br />
:Beret Guy: Any Updates?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail, facing left]<br />
:Ponytail: Bad news: many of our assets were liquidated this morning due to a thermostat glitch.<br />
:Ponytail: Good news: the sink in the kitchen has stopped producing original content.<br />
<br />
:[Same as panel one, but characters are facing Megan]<br />
:Beret Guy: How are our finances?<br />
:Megan: Our biggest source of revenue is our ongoing project to transmute lead into gold.<br />
:Megan: Our biggest expense is our project to transmute it back.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Beret Guy, facing right, offset to the left of the panel. Two characters speak from off-panel right]<br />
:Beret Guy: Lastly, any luck getting the girl from ''The Ring'' to stop showing up in our video conferences?<br />
:From Right 1: No, but honestly, she's made some good contributions.<br />
:From Right 2: Yeah, I think we should hire her.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1997:_Business_Update&diff=1575491997: Business Update2018-05-24T04:18:57Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1997<br />
| date = May 23, 2018<br />
| title = Business Update<br />
| image = business_update.png<br />
| titletext = Our customers keep sending us their personal information, even though we've repeatedly asked them to stop. The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR, but we should probably still try to fix that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CRABONID DRONE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows a meeting at Beret Guy's business (as seen in [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|these other comics]]). As usual, those in the business demonstrate a misuse of business terminology and take strange happenings within the business in stride.<br />
<br />
Though maintaining a semblance of business-savviness through the use of many corporate buzzwords, it becomes clear that what is normally metaphorical in a usual boardroom meeting is here quite likely meant literally. The Quarterly Reports, described as "looking good," may be literally physically attractive (rather than recording successful business dealings). Knowing Beret Guy, it seems likely that the office is full of coins or dollar bills, and not simply economically well-off. Stocks (pillory?) are being manufactured. Individual customers are experiencing physical growth, though most businesses would be more concerned with a growth in the number of customers supporting the business. Assets liquidated in a thermostat glitch were literally melted; the kitchen sink producing original content was not generating unique ideas, but leaking from the faucet (or possibly flooding from the sewer). It is also worth noting that the "largest source of revenue" may not be producing much if any revenue at all; it can still be the biggest if there are no others. On the other hand, past experience with Beret Guy's business would indicate that this company is [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1032:_Networking making plenty of money], though they aren't necessarily sure [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1493:_Meeting how].<br />
<br />
Transmuting lead into gold was a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Alchemy goal of alchemists] for many centuries. It is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation now possible to accomplish transmutation of lead into gold, and gold into lead, via nuclear transmutation]. (Via modern nuclear methods, it is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Modern_physics far easier to turn gold into lead than the reverse.]) While the expense far exceeds the value of the gold produced by such methods, it seems plausible that, given Beret Guy's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Strange_powers_of_Beret_Guy surpassing strangeness], his company may be successfully and cheaply transmuting large quantities of lead into gold and back again. Since gold is worth much more than lead in today's market, the first transmutation could indeed result in major profit, while the reverse would obviously result in major losses.<br />
<br />
In the last panel, "the girl from ''The Ring''" refers to Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ring_(film_series) the ''Ring'' series by Koji Suzuki], who has been referenced by xkcd several times in the past--for example, in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/396:_The_Ring 396: The Ring]. Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie. However, some of Beret Guy's employees then proceed to remark that she has made contributions to the meetings in question, implying that the image of Yamamura is not only alive but sentient and communicating with the employees, a possibility that, if accurate, is accepted with surprising nonchalance by Beret Guy's employees. It's also possible that Yamamura is simply the recording from the series, and her contributions are just in keeping with the general tone of the company's video conferences. Either way, it would appear that Beret Guy's sheer eccentricity has affected his staff to the point that a digital spectre would not be an abnormal employee.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the May 25 deadline to implement the European Union's {{w|GDPR|General Data Protection Regulation}}; this comic parodies a business meeting about what the company is doing to prepare for it. However, while normally the problem would be how to handle the customers' personal information that the company requires to retain in order to do business, in this case it seems the company does not require personal information at all, and instead, customers are sending them theirs on their own. Even more bizarrely, Beret Guy was told by the EU (or at least he thinks he was told by the EU) that he is exempt because he is royalty of some kind (though, of course, such exemption is not a real part of GDPR), but he wants to do it anyway, just to be on the safe side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Beret Guy, Ponytail, Hairy, Hairbun and Megan sit around a table, left to right. Beret Guy and Megan are sitting on chairs at the ends. All others are behind the table with no visible chairs. All characters face Beret Guy]<br />
:Beret Guy: Quarterly reports are looking good. <br />
:Beret Guy: Our office is full of cash, we're producing stocks faster than ever before, and our customers are experiencing rapid growth.<br />
:Beret Guy: Any Updates?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail, facing left]<br />
:Ponytail: Bad news: many of our assets were liquidated this morning due to a thermostat glitch.<br />
:Ponytail: Good news: the sink in the kitchen has stopped producing original content.<br />
<br />
:[Same as panel one, but characters are facing Megan]<br />
:Beret Guy: How are our finances?<br />
:Megan: Our biggest source of revenue is our ongoing project to transmute lead into gold.<br />
:Megan: Our biggest expense is our project to transmute it back.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Beret Guy, facing right, offset to the left of the panel. Two characters speak from off-panel right]<br />
:Beret Guy: Lastly, any luck getting the girl from ''The Ring'' to stop showing up in our video conferences?<br />
:From Right 1: No, but honestly, she's made some good contributions.<br />
:From Right 2: Yeah, I think we should hire her.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1997:_Business_Update&diff=1575481997: Business Update2018-05-24T04:15:25Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1997<br />
| date = May 23, 2018<br />
| title = Business Update<br />
| image = business_update.png<br />
| titletext = Our customers keep sending us their personal information, even though we've repeatedly asked them to stop. The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR, but we should probably still try to fix that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CRABONID DRONE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows a meeting at Beret Guy's business (as seen in [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|these other comics]]). As usual, those in the business demonstrate a misuse of business terminology and take strange happenings within the business in stride.<br />
<br />
Though maintaining a semblance of business-savviness through the use of many corporate buzzwords, it becomes clear that what is normally metaphorical in a usual boardroom meeting is here quite likely meant literally. The Quarterly Reports, described as "looking good," may be literally physically attractive (rather than recording successful business dealings). Knowing Beret Guy, it seems likely that the office is full of coins or dollar bills, and not simply economically well-off. Stocks (pillory?) are being manufactured. Individual customers are experiencing physical growth, though most businesses would be more concerned with a growth in the number of customers supporting the business. Assets liquidated in a thermostat glitch were literally melted; the kitchen sink producing original content was not generating unique ideas, but leaking from the faucet (or possibly flooding from the sewer). It is also worth noting that the "largest source of revenue" may not be producing much if any revenue at all; it can still be the biggest if there are no others. On the other hand, past experience with Beret Guy's business would indicate that this company is [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1032:_Networking making plenty of money], though they aren't necessarily sure [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1493:_Meeting how].<br />
<br />
Transmuting lead into gold was a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Alchemy goal of alchemists] for many centuries. It is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation now possible to accomplish transmutation of lead into gold, and gold into lead, via nuclear transmutation]. (Via modern nuclear methods, it is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Modern_physics far easier to turn gold into lead than the reverse.]) While the expense far exceeds the value of the gold produced by such methods, it seems plausible that, given Beret Guy's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Strange_powers_of_Beret_Guy surpassing strangeness], his company may be successfully and cheaply transmuting large quantities of lead into gold and back again. Since gold is worth much more than lead in today's market, the first transmutation could indeed result in major profit, while the reverse would obviously result in major losses.<br />
<br />
In the last panel, "the girl from ''The Ring''" refers to Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ring_(film_series) the ''Ring'' series by Koji Suzuki], who has been referenced by xkcd several times in the past.{{Citation needed}} Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie. However, some of Beret Guy's employees then proceed to remark that she has made contributions to the meetings in question, implying that the image of Yamamura is not only alive but sentient and communicating with the employees, a possibility that, if accurate, is accepted with surprising nonchalance by Beret Guy's employees. It's also possible that Yamamura is simply the recording from the series, and her contributions are just in keeping with the general tone of the company's video conferences. Either way, it would appear that Beret Guy's sheer eccentricity has affected his staff to the point that a digital spectre would not be an abnormal employee.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the May 25 deadline to implement the European Union's {{w|GDPR|General Data Protection Regulation}}; this comic parodies a business meeting about what the company is doing to prepare for it. However, while normally the problem would be how to handle the customers' personal information that the company requires to retain in order to do business, in this case it seems the company does not require personal information at all, and instead, customers are sending them theirs on their own. Even more bizarrely, Beret Guy was told by the EU (or at least he thinks he was told by the EU) that he is exempt because he is royalty of some kind (though, of course, such exemption is not a real part of GDPR), but he wants to do it anyway, just to be on the safe side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Beret Guy, Ponytail, Hairy, Hairbun and Megan sit around a table, left to right. Beret Guy and Megan are sitting on chairs at the ends. All others are behind the table with no visible chairs. All characters face Beret Guy]<br />
:Beret Guy: Quarterly reports are looking good. <br />
:Beret Guy: Our office is full of cash, we're producing stocks faster than ever before, and our customers are experiencing rapid growth.<br />
:Beret Guy: Any Updates?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail, facing left]<br />
:Ponytail: Bad news: many of our assets were liquidated this morning due to a thermostat glitch.<br />
:Ponytail: Good news: the sink in the kitchen has stopped producing original content.<br />
<br />
:[Same as panel one, but characters are facing Megan]<br />
:Beret Guy: How are our finances?<br />
:Megan: Our biggest source of revenue is our ongoing project to transmute lead into gold.<br />
:Megan: Our biggest expense is our project to transmute it back.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Beret Guy, facing right, offset to the left of the panel. Two characters speak from off-panel right]<br />
:Beret Guy: Lastly, any luck getting the girl from ''The Ring'' to stop showing up in our video conferences?<br />
:From Right 1: No, but honestly, she's made some good contributions.<br />
:From Right 2: Yeah, I think we should hire her.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1997:_Business_Update&diff=1575471997: Business Update2018-05-24T04:14:30Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1997<br />
| date = May 23, 2018<br />
| title = Business Update<br />
| image = business_update.png<br />
| titletext = Our customers keep sending us their personal information, even though we've repeatedly asked them to stop. The EU told me I'm the heir to some ancient European throne that makes me exempt from the GDPR, but we should probably still try to fix that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CRABONID DRONE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic shows a meeting at Beret Guy's business (as seen in [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|these other comics]]). As usual, those in the business demonstrate a misuse of business terminology and take strange happenings within the business in stride.<br />
<br />
Though maintaining a semblance of business-savviness through the use of many corporate buzzwords, it becomes clear that what is normally metaphorical in a usual boardroom meeting is here quite likely meant literally. The Quarterly Reports, described as "looking good," may be literally physically attractive (rather than recording successful business dealings). Knowing Beret Guy, it seems likely that the office is full of coins or dollar bills, and not simply economically well-off. Stocks (pillory?) are being manufactured. Individual customers are experiencing physical growth, though most businesses would be more concerned with a growth in the number of customers supporting the business. Assets liquidated in a thermostat glitch were literally melted; the kitchen sink producing original content was not generating unique ideas, but leaking from the faucet (or possibly flooding from the sewer). It is also worth noting that the "largest source of revenue" may not be producing much if any revenue at all; it can still be the biggest if there are no others. On the other hand, past experience with Beret Guy's business would indicate that this company is [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1032:_Networking making plenty of money], though they aren't necessarily sure [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1493:_Meeting how].<br />
<br />
Transmuting lead into gold was a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Alchemy goal of alchemists] for many centuries. It is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation now possible to accomplish transmutation of lead into gold, and gold into lead, via nuclear transmutation]. (Via modern nuclear methods, it is actually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation#Modern_physics far easier to turn gold into lead than the reverse.]) While the expense far exceeds the value of the gold produced by such methods, it seems plausible that, given Beret Guy's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Strange_powers_of_Beret_Guy surpassing strangeness], his company may be successfully and cheaply transmuting large quantities of lead into gold and back again. Since gold is worth much more than lead in today's market, the first transmutation could indeed result in major profit, while the reverse would obviously result in major losses.<br />
<br />
In the last panel, "the girl from ''The Ring''" refers to Sadako Yamamura, the antagonist of the ''Ring'' series by Koji Suzuki, who has been referenced by xkcd several times in the past.{{Citation needed}} Beret Guy claims she has made several appearances in their video conferences, which may be possible if someone has hacked their video feed to play footage from the 2002 movie. However, some of Beret Guy's employees then proceed to remark that she has made contributions to the meetings in question, implying that the image of Yamamura is not only alive but sentient and communicating with the employees, a possibility that, if accurate, is accepted with surprising nonchalance by Beret Guy's employees. It's also possible that Yamamura is simply the recording from the series, and her contributions are just in keeping with the general tone of the company's video conferences. Either way, it would appear that Beret Guy's sheer eccentricity has affected his staff to the point that a digital spectre would not be an abnormal employee.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the May 25 deadline to implement the European Union's {{w|GDPR|General Data Protection Regulation}}; this comic parodies a business meeting about what the company is doing to prepare for it. However, while normally the problem would be how to handle the customers' personal information that the company requires to retain in order to do business, in this case it seems the company does not require personal information at all, and instead, customers are sending them theirs on their own. Even more bizarrely, Beret Guy was told by the EU (or at least he thinks he was told by the EU) that he is exempt because he is royalty of some kind (though, of course, such exemption is not a real part of GDPR), but he wants to do it anyway, just to be on the safe side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Beret Guy, Ponytail, Hairy, Hairbun and Megan sit around a table, left to right. Beret Guy and Megan are sitting on chairs at the ends. All others are behind the table with no visible chairs. All characters face Beret Guy]<br />
:Beret Guy: Quarterly reports are looking good. <br />
:Beret Guy: Our office is full of cash, we're producing stocks faster than ever before, and our customers are experiencing rapid growth.<br />
:Beret Guy: Any Updates?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail, facing left]<br />
:Ponytail: Bad news: many of our assets were liquidated this morning due to a thermostat glitch.<br />
:Ponytail: Good news: the sink in the kitchen has stopped producing original content.<br />
<br />
:[Same as panel one, but characters are facing Megan]<br />
:Beret Guy: How are our finances?<br />
:Megan: Our biggest source of revenue is our ongoing project to transmute lead into gold.<br />
:Megan: Our biggest expense is our project to transmute it back.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Beret Guy, facing right, offset to the left of the panel. Two characters speak from off-panel right]<br />
:Beret Guy: Lastly, any luck getting the girl from ''The Ring'' to stop showing up in our video conferences?<br />
:From Right 1: No, but honestly, she's made some good contributions.<br />
:From Right 2: Yeah, I think we should hire her.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1522:_Astronomy&diff=1575441522: Astronomy2018-05-24T03:31:42Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1522<br />
| date = May 8, 2015<br />
| title = Astronomy<br />
| image = astronomy.png<br />
| titletext = Astrobiology is held back by the fact that we're all too nervous to try to balance on the ladder while holding an expensive microscope.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
For objects at a great distance one can achieve a better view by using a {{w|telescope}} as it is the typical method in {{w|Astronomy}}. Looking through a lens or a {{w|microscope}} in {{w|biology}} and other disciplines does magnify short distant objects. And a {{w|magnifying glass}} works more like a microscope when your eye lense is close to the {{w|focus}} of the magnifying glass, but when looking at distant objects you have to increase the distance between the glass and your eye where the {{w|focal length}} of your magnifying glass must be increased to meters instead of centimetres or less on a close view. But in general a {{w|Galilean Telescope}} works at the same principle as a magnifying glass together with your eye lens, the magnifying glass only has to have a long focal length which is optimized for far distances.<br />
<br />
In the comic, the objects being viewed by Megan could be {{w|stars}}, {{w|galaxies}} and the {{w|planets}} of our {{w|Solar System}}. [[Megan]] takes approach by telescope. [[Beret Guy]] attempts approach it using a step-ladder to get closer to the stars, and then looking at them through his simple hand-held magnifying glass. This approach could be successful only if the stars were a few meters away, so that the ladder would take him within a few centimeters of the study object. In fact the visible stars are several {{w|light years}} away (typically 18-20 orders of magnitude further away) and getting two meters up on a ladder won't make any perceivable difference.<br />
<br />
The title text assumes (for comic effect) that the only thing wrong with Beret Guy's strategy is the instability of the ladder endangering the expensive microscopes used by biologists for {{w|Astrobiology}}. Astrobiology is the study of life (or the possibility thereof) elsewhere in the universe, and here it would be either the planets and moons in our Solar System or {{w|exoplanets}} they needed to look at. This is the second comic related to studying exoplanets in two weeks, the first being [[1517: Spectroscopy]] (see more references there).<br />
<br />
Since we cannot go there, they do, of course, not use any microscopes in the direct studies. However, one typical magnifier in biology is the {{w|electron microscope}}, used to study {{w|microbiology}}, and they cost a lot and are very heavy. It is therefore inadvisable to carry one up a ladder, and it could possibly become very expensive if you did try it anyway.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[In front of a starry black sky, Megan looks at the stars through a telescope about twice her size, touching it at the base. She remains in the exact same position through all four panels.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy enters the panel holding a ladder and a magnifying glass.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy places the ladder next to Megan and her telescope. The ladder is stands like a triangle, is slightly larger than Megan, but smaller than the telescope.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret guy climbs to the top of the ladder, and looks at the stars through a magnifying glass.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Usually, however, Beret Guy has [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]], so it's quite possible that his method would yield similar or even better results than Megan's approach; see for instance [[1490: Atoms]]. Given his naivety, it's also possible he just doesn't realize they should look any different. His naivety of astronomy is demonstrated in [[811: Starlight]].<br />
<br />
The history of astronomy is filled with drastic misunderstanding of distances to celestial bodies, even up to the present day like [[Randall]] has covered in [[1342: Ancient Stars]]. Thus, the comic could be in reference to the general overestimation of distances, albeit taken to the opposite extreme.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Telescopes]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1522:_Astronomy&diff=1575431522: Astronomy2018-05-24T03:30:40Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1522<br />
| date = May 8, 2015<br />
| title = Astronomy<br />
| image = astronomy.png<br />
| titletext = Astrobiology is held back by the fact that we're all too nervous to try to balance on the ladder while holding an expensive microscope.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
For objects at a great distance one can achieve a better view by using a {{w|telescope}} as it is the typical method in {{w|Astronomy}}. Looking through a lens or a {{w|microscope}} in {{w|biology}} and other disciplines does magnify short distant objects. And a {{w|magnifying glass}} works more like a microscope when your eye lense is close to the {{w|focus}} of the magnifying glass, but when looking at distant objects you have to increase the distance between the glass and your eye where the {{w|focal length}} of your magnifying glass must be increased to meters instead of centimetres or less on a close view. But in general a {{w|Galilean Telescope}} works at the same principle as a magnifying glass together with your eye lens, the magnifying glass only has to have a long focal length which is optimized for far distances.<br />
<br />
In the comic, the objects being viewed by Megan could be {{w|stars}}, {{w|galaxies}} and the {{w|planets}} of our {{w|Solar System}}. [[Megan]] takes approach by telescope. [[Beret Guy]] attempts approach it using a step-ladder to get closer to the stars, and then looking at them through his simple hand-held magnifying glass. This approach could be successful only if the stars were a few meters away, so that the ladder would take him within a few centimeters of the study object. In fact the visible stars are several {{w|light years}} away (typically 18-20 orders of magnitude further away) and getting two meters up on a ladder won't make any perceivable difference.<br />
<br />
The title text assumes (for comic effect) that the only thing wrong with Beret Guy's strategy is the instability of the ladder endangering the expensive microscopes used by biologists for {{w|Astrobiology}}. Astrobiology is the study of life (or the possibility thereof) elsewhere in the universe, and here it would be either the planets and moons in our Solar System or {{w|exoplanets}} they needed to look at. This is the second comic related to studying exoplanets in two weeks, the first being [[1517: Spectroscopy]] (see more references there).<br />
<br />
Since we cannot go there, they do, of course, not use any microscopes in the direct studies. However, one typical magnifier in biology is the {{w|electron microscope}}, used to study {{w|microbiology}}, and they cost a lot and are very heavy. It is therefore inadvisable to carry one up a ladder, and it could possibly become very expensive if you did try it anyway.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[In front of a starry black sky, Megan looks at the stars through a telescope about twice her size, touching it at the base. She remains in the exact same position through all four panels.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy enters the panel holding a ladder and a magnifying glass.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy places the ladder next to Megan and her telescope. The ladder is stands like a triangle, is slightly larger than Megan, but smaller than the telescope.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret guy climbs to the top of the ladder, and looks at the stars through a magnifying glass.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Usually, however, Beret Guy has [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]], so it's quite possible that his method would yield similar or even better results than Megan's approach; see for instance [[1490: Atoms]]. Given his naivety, it's also possible he just doesn't realize they should look any different. His naivety of astronomy is demonstrated in [[811: Starlight]].<br />
<br />
The history of astronomy is filled with drastic misunderstanding of distances to celestial bodies, even up to the present day like [[Randall]] has covered in [[1342: Ancient Stars]]. Thus, the comic could be in reference to the general overestimation of distances, albeit taken to the opposite extreme.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Telescopes]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1522:_Astronomy&diff=1575421522: Astronomy2018-05-24T03:30:10Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1522<br />
| date = May 8, 2015<br />
| title = Astronomy<br />
| image = astronomy.png<br />
| titletext = Astrobiology is held back by the fact that we're all too nervous to try to balance on the ladder while holding an expensive microscope.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
For objects at a great distance one can achieve a better view by using a {{w|telescope}} as it is the typical method in {{w|Astronomy}}. Looking through a lens or a {{w|microscope}} in {{w|biology}} and other disciplines does magnify short distant objects. And a {{w|magnifying glass}} works more like a microscope when your eye lense is close to the {{w|focus}} of the magnifying glass, but when looking at distant objects you have to increase the distance between the glass and your eye where the {{w|focal length}} of your magnifying glass must be increased to meters instead of centimetres or less on a close view. But in general a {{w|Galilean Telescope}} works at the same principle as a magnifying glass together with your eye lens, the magnifying glass only has to have a long focal length which is optimized for far distances.<br />
<br />
In the comic, the objects being viewed by Megan could be {{w|stars}}, {{w|galaxies}} and the {{w|planets}} of our {{w|Solar System}}. [[Megan]] takes approach by telescope. [[Beret Guy]] attempts approach it using a step-ladder to get closer to the stars, and then looking at them through his simple hand-held magnifying glass. This approach could be successful only if the stars were a few meters away, so that the ladder would take him within a few centimeters of the study object. In fact the visible stars are several {{w|light years}} away (typically 18-20 orders of magnitude further away) and getting two meters up on a ladder won't make any perceivable difference.<br />
<br />
The title text assumes (for comic effect) that the only thing wrong with Beret Guy's strategy is the instability of the ladder endangering the expensive microscopes used by biologists for {{w|Astrobiology}}. Astrobiology is the study of life (or the possibility thereof) elsewhere in the universe, and here it would be either the planets and moons in our Solar System or {{w|exoplanets}} they needed to look at. This is the second comic related to studying exoplanets in two weeks, the first being [[1517: Spectroscopy]] (see more references there).<br />
<br />
Since we cannot go there, they do, of course, not use any microscopes in the direct studies. However, one typical magnifier in biology is the {{w|electron microscope}}, used to study {{w|microbiology}}, and they cost a lot and are very heavy. It is therefore inadvisable to carry one up a ladder, and it could possibly become very expensive if you did try it anyway. {{w|citation needed}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[In front of a starry black sky, Megan looks at the stars through a telescope about twice her size, touching it at the base. She remains in the exact same position through all four panels.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy enters the panel holding a ladder and a magnifying glass.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy places the ladder next to Megan and her telescope. The ladder is stands like a triangle, is slightly larger than Megan, but smaller than the telescope.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret guy climbs to the top of the ladder, and looks at the stars through a magnifying glass.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Usually, however, Beret Guy has [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]], so it's quite possible that his method would yield similar or even better results than Megan's approach; see for instance [[1490: Atoms]]. Given his naivety, it's also possible he just doesn't realize they should look any different. His naivety of astronomy is demonstrated in [[811: Starlight]].<br />
<br />
The history of astronomy is filled with drastic misunderstanding of distances to celestial bodies, even up to the present day like [[Randall]] has covered in [[1342: Ancient Stars]]. Thus, the comic could be in reference to the general overestimation of distances, albeit taken to the opposite extreme.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Telescopes]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1522:_Astronomy&diff=1575411522: Astronomy2018-05-24T03:29:54Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1522<br />
| date = May 8, 2015<br />
| title = Astronomy<br />
| image = astronomy.png<br />
| titletext = Astrobiology is held back by the fact that we're all too nervous to try to balance on the ladder while holding an expensive microscope.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
For objects at a great distance one can achieve a better view by using a {{w|telescope}} as it is the typical method in {{w|Astronomy}}. Looking through a lens or a {{w|microscope}} in {{w|biology}} and other disciplines does magnify short distant objects. And a {{w|magnifying glass}} works more like a microscope when your eye lense is close to the {{w|focus}} of the magnifying glass, but when looking at distant objects you have to increase the distance between the glass and your eye where the {{w|focal length}} of your magnifying glass must be increased to meters instead of centimetres or less on a close view. But in general a {{w|Galilean Telescope}} works at the same principle as a magnifying glass together with your eye lens, the magnifying glass only has to have a long focal length which is optimized for far distances.<br />
<br />
In the comic, the objects being viewed by Megan could be {{w|stars}}, {{w|galaxies}} and the {{w|planets}} of our {{w|Solar System}}. [[Megan]] takes approach by telescope. [[Beret Guy]] attempts approach it using a step-ladder to get closer to the stars, and then looking at them through his simple hand-held magnifying glass. This approach could be successful only if the stars were a few meters away, so that the ladder would take him within a few centimeters of the study object. In fact the visible stars are several {{w|light years}} away (typically 18-20 orders of magnitude further away) and getting two meters up on a ladder won't make any perceivable difference.<br />
<br />
The title text assumes (for comic effect) that the only thing wrong with Beret Guy's strategy is the instability of the ladder endangering the expensive microscopes used by biologists for {{w|Astrobiology}}. Astrobiology is the study of life (or the possibility thereof) elsewhere in the universe, and here it would be either the planets and moons in our Solar System or {{w|exoplanets}} they needed to look at. This is the second comic related to studying exoplanets in two weeks, the first being [[1517: Spectroscopy]] (see more references there).<br />
<br />
Since we cannot go there, they do, of course, not use any microscopes in the direct studies. However, one typical magnifier in biology is the {{w|electron microscope}}, used to study {{w|microbiology}}, and they cost a lot and are very heavy. It is therefore inadvisable to carry one up a ladder, and it could possibly become very expensive if you did try it anyway. {{citation needed}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[In front of a starry black sky, Megan looks at the stars through a telescope about twice her size, touching it at the base. She remains in the exact same position through all four panels.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy enters the panel holding a ladder and a magnifying glass.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy places the ladder next to Megan and her telescope. The ladder is stands like a triangle, is slightly larger than Megan, but smaller than the telescope.]<br />
<br />
:[Beret guy climbs to the top of the ladder, and looks at the stars through a magnifying glass.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Usually, however, Beret Guy has [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]], so it's quite possible that his method would yield similar or even better results than Megan's approach; see for instance [[1490: Atoms]]. Given his naivety, it's also possible he just doesn't realize they should look any different. His naivety of astronomy is demonstrated in [[811: Starlight]].<br />
<br />
The history of astronomy is filled with drastic misunderstanding of distances to celestial bodies, even up to the present day like [[Randall]] has covered in [[1342: Ancient Stars]]. Thus, the comic could be in reference to the general overestimation of distances, albeit taken to the opposite extreme.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Telescopes]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1490:_Atoms&diff=1575401490: Atoms2018-05-24T03:28:28Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1490<br />
| date = February 23, 2015<br />
| title = Atoms<br />
| image = atoms.png<br />
| titletext = When I was little I had trouble telling my dad apart from the dog. I always recognized my mom because she had a bunch of extra plutoniums in her middle. I never did ask her why...<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic shows another quirky and fantastical ability of [[Beret Guy]].<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] is preparing a sample of what appears to be some mineral for {{w|elemental analysis}}. It seems to be some kind of {{w|silicate}} containing a small amount of {{w|iron}} (a common example of this would be {{w|red sandstone}}), and she is running a test to see if it contains {{w|beryllium}} (a rarer element whose best-known natural form is as a component of {{w|emerald}}). Such analyses typically involve many instruments and steps to prepare the sample. However, Beret Guy seems to be able to identify all the elements the substance is composed of just by eyeballing it, making him perhaps the perfect elemental analysis instrument.<br />
<br />
To confirm this, Megan asks Beret Guy what he sees when he looks at her face, expecting that a normal person would describe the arrangement of colors and features that they see. Since Beret Guy only sees the atoms Megan is composed of (mostly {{w|Composition_of_the_human_body|oxygen, carbon and hydrogen}}) he only notices the unusual atoms. In this case he sees the metal atoms her {{w|Dental_restoration#Materials_used|dental fillings}} are composed of. This shows his "atomic vision" extends beyond the surface of the substances. Megan finds this bizarre and asks Beret Guy what is wrong with him. He states that he has always suspected he contains too much {{w|zinc}}, which he believes makes people think he is weird, thus missing Megan’s point: what is weird is not Beret Guy’s elemental content, but his ability to apparently see everything as atoms sorted by element{{Citation needed}}.<br />
<br />
High zinc intake ({{w|Zinc toxicity|zinc toxicity}}) can cause nausea, vomiting, pain, cramps and diarrhea. It also reduces copper absorption, which affects the immune system.<br />
<br />
The comic continues the theme of Beret Guy’s naive misunderstandings of scientific terminology turning to be literally true. In a previous [[1486: Vacuum|comic]] his misinterpretation of the notion of energy in the vacuum resulted in him gaining significant superpowers.<br />
<br />
In the title text, the concept is taken even further: Beret Guy found his dad indistinguishable from a dog. This is likely because all mammals are essentially made of the same basic elements. Absent a distinguishing element from either his dad or the dog, they would appear to be the same. He could, however, apparently distinguish his mother because she contained {{w|plutonium}}. This is a very unusual occurrence that cannot possibly occur naturally in humans{{Citation needed}}. Some possible explanations are:<br />
#She had an {{w|Radioisotope thermoelectric generator|RTG}}-powered pacemaker (a few hundred were made in the 1970s).<br />
#She lived near Los Alamos during the second world war and was a member of the [http://warisboring.com/articles/the-scientists-who-pee-plutonium/ UPPU club (translated as “You pee Pu!”)]. Alternatively, she could have been exposed to another source such as {{w|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.<br />
#She was one of {{w|The Stepford Wives}} robots.<br />
#She was the victim of some unidentified, unethical medical experimentation. <br />
It is also possible that the presence of plutonium in his mother may be the source of his own differences: radioactive exposure (in this case, potentially in utero) is a common source of super powers in comic books and other fiction.<br />
<br />
It's not clear whether his mother's plutonium is related to his "too many zincs". One explanation for Beret Guy having too much zinc could be that his mother's plutonium changed into zinc through the process of {{w|radioactive decay}}.<br />
<br />
The English physicist {{w|Henry Moseley}} discovered the law relating the {{w|atomic number}} of elements with their {{w|characteristic x-ray|characteristic x-rays}} when bombarded by free electrons, providing physical evidence for the {{w|periodic table}}, the {{w|Bohr Model}} of the atom and the concept of {{w|atomic number}}. In doing so he developed a method of identifying elements in a substance by bombarding them in a vacuum with electrons and using {{w|x-ray diffraction}} methods to measure the resulting X-rays. A famous French chemist brought him a complicated mixture of {{w|Rare Earth element|Rare Earth elements}}, many of which had only recently been discovered, to test his method. Within a short time, Mosley amazed the chemist by identifying all the elements by number using his method and referring to his chart to name them. This comic may therefore be subtly alluding to this method by suggesting that Beret Guy's eyes can fire electrons at anything he looks at and "read" the resulting X-ray radiation, giving him the ability to identify the composite elements in a similar manner.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan stands at a table and is preparing a sample for some kind of analysis in a device, when Beret Guy walks in.]<br />
:Beret guy: What’re you doing?<br />
:Megan: Testing a sample for beryllium.<br />
:Beret guy: That? Yeah, there’s a bunch of berylliums.<br />
:Megan: How do you know?<br />
<br />
:[Megan turns to Beret Guy who takes the sample and looks at it.]<br />
:Beret guy: Look at it! See? Tons of oxygens and silicons, a few irons but definitely some berylliums too! Can’t you see them?<br />
<br />
:[They continue to talk.]<br />
:Megan: No, I can’t see a list of the atoms in a thing by looking.<br />
:Beret guy: How do you tell what things are?<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Megan.]<br />
:Megan: This is ridiculous. Look at me. What do you see?<br />
:Beret guy (off-panel): You have tons of metal in your face. Lots of fillings, I guess?<br />
<br />
:[Megan stares at Beret Guy who takes a looks at his own arm.]<br />
:Megan: What’s '''''wrong''''' with you?<br />
:Beret guy: Too many zincs? I’ve always worried I had too much zinc and everyone thought I was weird.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*In the original version of the comic there was a typo in the title text, ''form'' instead of ''from'':<br />
**I had trouble telling my dad apart '''form''' the dog.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1490:_Atoms&diff=1575391490: Atoms2018-05-24T03:25:36Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1490<br />
| date = February 23, 2015<br />
| title = Atoms<br />
| image = atoms.png<br />
| titletext = When I was little I had trouble telling my dad apart from the dog. I always recognized my mom because she had a bunch of extra plutoniums in her middle. I never did ask her why...<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic shows another quirky and fantastical ability of [[Beret Guy]].<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] is preparing a sample of what appears to be some mineral for {{w|elemental analysis}}. It seems to be some kind of {{w|silicate}} containing a small amount of {{w|iron}} (a common example of this would be {{w|red sandstone}}), and she is running a test to see if it contains {{w|beryllium}} (a rarer element whose best-known natural form is as a component of {{w|emerald}}). Such analyses typically involve many instruments and steps to prepare the sample. However, Beret Guy seems to be able to identify all the elements the substance is composed of just by eyeballing it, making him perhaps the perfect elemental analysis instrument.<br />
<br />
To confirm this, Megan asks Beret Guy what he sees when he looks at her face, expecting that a normal person would describe the arrangement of colors and features that they see. Since Beret Guy only sees the atoms Megan is composed of (mostly {{w|Composition_of_the_human_body|oxygen, carbon and hydrogen}}) he only notices the unusual atoms. In this case he sees the metal atoms her {{w|Dental_restoration#Materials_used|dental fillings}} are composed of. This shows his "atomic vision" extends beyond the surface of the substances. Megan finds this bizarre and asks Beret Guy what is wrong with him. He states that he suspects he contains too much {{w|zinc}}, which he believes makes people think he is weird, thus missing Megan’s point: what is weird is not Beret Guy’s elemental content, but his ability to apparently see everything as atoms sorted by element{{Citation needed}}.<br />
<br />
High zinc intake ({{w|Zinc toxicity|zinc toxicity}}) can cause nausea, vomiting, pain, cramps and diarrhea. It also reduces copper absorption, which affects the immune system.<br />
<br />
The comic continues the theme of Beret Guy’s naive misunderstandings of scientific terminology turning to be literally true. In a previous [[1486: Vacuum|comic]] his misinterpretation of the notion of energy in the vacuum resulted in him gaining significant superpowers.<br />
<br />
In the title text, the concept is taken even further: Beret Guy found his dad indistinguishable from a dog. This is likely because all mammals are essentially made of the same basic elements. Absent a distinguishing element from either his dad or the dog, they would appear to be the same. He could, however, apparently distinguish his mother because she contained {{w|plutonium}}. This is a very unusual occurrence that cannot possibly occur naturally in humans{{Citation needed}}. Some possible explanations are:<br />
#She had an {{w|Radioisotope thermoelectric generator|RTG}}-powered pacemaker (a few hundred were made in the 1970s).<br />
#She lived near Los Alamos during the second world war and was a member of the [http://warisboring.com/articles/the-scientists-who-pee-plutonium/ UPPU club (translated as “You pee Pu!”)]. Alternatively, she could have been exposed to another source such as {{w|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.<br />
#She was one of {{w|The Stepford Wives}} robots.<br />
#She was the victim of some unidentified, unethical medical experimentation. <br />
It is also possible that the presence of plutonium in his mother may be the source of his own differences: radioactive exposure (in this case, potentially in utero) is a common source of super powers in comic books and other fiction.<br />
<br />
It's not clear whether his mother's plutonium is related to his "too many zincs". One explanation for Beret Guy having too much zinc could be that his mother's plutonium changed into zinc through the process of {{w|radioactive decay}}.<br />
<br />
The English physicist {{w|Henry Moseley}} discovered the law relating the {{w|atomic number}} of elements with their {{w|characteristic x-ray|characteristic x-rays}} when bombarded by free electrons, providing physical evidence for the {{w|periodic table}}, the {{w|Bohr Model}} of the atom and the concept of {{w|atomic number}}. In doing so he developed a method of identifying elements in a substance by bombarding them in a vacuum with electrons and using {{w|x-ray diffraction}} methods to measure the resulting X-rays. A famous French chemist brought him a complicated mixture of {{w|Rare Earth element|Rare Earth elements}}, many of which had only recently been discovered, to test his method. Within a short time, Mosley amazed the chemist by identifying all the elements by number using his method and referring to his chart to name them. This comic may therefore be subtly alluding to this method by suggesting that Beret Guy's eyes can fire electrons at anything he looks at and "read" the resulting X-ray radiation, giving him the ability to identify the composite elements in a similar manner.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan stands at a table and is preparing a sample for some kind of analysis in a device, when Beret Guy walks in.]<br />
:Beret guy: What’re you doing?<br />
:Megan: Testing a sample for beryllium.<br />
:Beret guy: That? Yeah, there’s a bunch of berylliums.<br />
:Megan: How do you know?<br />
<br />
:[Megan turns to Beret Guy who takes the sample and looks at it.]<br />
:Beret guy: Look at it! See? Tons of oxygens and silicons, a few irons but definitely some berylliums too! Can’t you see them?<br />
<br />
:[They continue to talk.]<br />
:Megan: No, I can’t see a list of the atoms in a thing by looking.<br />
:Beret guy: How do you tell what things are?<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Megan.]<br />
:Megan: This is ridiculous. Look at me. What do you see?<br />
:Beret guy (off-panel): You have tons of metal in your face. Lots of fillings, I guess?<br />
<br />
:[Megan stares at Beret Guy who takes a looks at his own arm.]<br />
:Megan: What’s '''''wrong''''' with you?<br />
:Beret guy: Too many zincs? I’ve always worried I had too much zinc and everyone thought I was weird.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*In the original version of the comic there was a typo in the title text, ''form'' instead of ''from'':<br />
**I had trouble telling my dad apart '''form''' the dog.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1422:_My_Phone_is_Dying&diff=1575381422: My Phone is Dying2018-05-24T03:21:38Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1422<br />
| date = September 17, 2014<br />
| title = My Phone is Dying<br />
| image = my_phone_is_dying.png<br />
| titletext = When it explodes, it will cast off its outer layers, leaving behind nothing but a slowly fading PalmPilot, calculator, or two-way pager.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Beret Guy|Beret Guy's]] phone is about to "die". [[Cueball]] assumes this just means that the battery is running out and it needs to be recharged, but the phone in question appears to "die" in a way analogous to the {{w|Stellar_evolution|life and death}} of a star: expending its fuel while heating up and expanding before ultimately losing its outer layers and becoming a white dwarf or similar "lesser" star. However, this is something phones usually don't do.{{Citation needed}} <br />
<br />
Stars constantly undergo fusion reactions. The pressure generated by these reactions counteracts gravity, preventing it from collapsing the star during its main lifespan. As the hydrogen mostly fuses into helium in the core, the core gradually becomes more dense and the region of fusion gradually moves away from the center. Then, the star grows in size, reaching the stage of a {{w|red giant}}. When most of the "fuel" for fusion has been consumed, gravity will collapse the star into a {{w|white dwarf}} while the outer layers are shed. For stars much more massive than the Sun, there will be a {{w|supernova}} explosion caused by a violent collapse, which is {{what if|73|very powerful}} (and leaves behind a {{w|neutron star}} or a {{w|black hole}}, depending on how much mass is left after the supernova). Stars with more hydrogen fuel tend to burn brighter and faster. Beret Guy's refusal of a charger is probably a reference to this.<br />
<br />
Both a supernova explosion and the collapse of red giants into white dwarfs shed their outer layers, which is referenced in the title text. Once extra mass is added to the dying star, analogous to "charging", the process only accelerates. The phone seems to have a certain mass because [[Beret Guy]] expects it to go (super)nova. Charging the phone may lead to a {{w|Nova|type 1a nova}}.<br />
<br />
The comic also plays on the release of two new {{w|IPhone|iPhone models}} with {{w|IPhone 6|bigger}} screens, planned for 2 days after the release of the comic.<br />
<br />
The comic could be also explained by the characteristics of Li-ion batteries, which are used in most cellphones. At the end of their useful life, these batteries may [http://barnson.org/node/1842 grow a bit]. In case of severe physical or thermal damage or multiple electrical failures, this type of battery can indeed overheat, leading to a {{w|thermal runaway}} reaction inside. That would result in the battery [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4010386/Incredible-X-rays-lithium-ion-batteries-explode-Gas-pillows-cause-cells-swell-catch-fire.html growing and eventually exploding]. Connecting a charger to a battery failing in this manner would probably make the process faster [http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/safety_concerns_with_li_ion].<br />
<br />
The title text implies that after Beret Guy's iPhone goes (super)nova, it will become either a "slowly fading" Palm Pilot, a calculator, or a two way pager: this would be the cellphone equivalent of a {{w|white dwarf}} (evidenced by the faint and slowly fading glow), {{w|neutron star}}, or {{w|black hole}} (evidence: black holes emit "information" in the form of {{w|Hawking radiation}} and have at one time been suspected to be half of a two-way portal through spacetime, along with a "{{w|white hole}}").<br />
<br />
Additionally, some particles and atoms decay by breaking into smaller, more elementary particles. It may be humorously implied that a {{w|PalmPilot}} (an early personal data assistant and precursor to the smartphone), a {{w|calculator}} (a very simple electronic device), and {{w|two-way pager}} (a device for sending and receiving short text messages) are the more elementary components that make up an iPhone.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
[Beret Guy walks on-panel, carrying a smartphone.]<br />
:Beret Guy: My phone's about to die.<br />
[The phone is now subtly larger.]<br />
:Cueball: Where'd you get a big iPhone? I didn't think they were out yet.<br />
:Beret Guy: It's my regular one. It's just dying.<br />
[The phone increases in size again. Beret Guy now holds it in both hands.]<br />
:Beret Guy: As it consumes its battery, it heats up and expands. Soon it will swell to enormous size, engulfing us both.<br />
[The phone is now the size of Beret Guy's torso; he is clutching it to himself. Cueball is pointing off-panel.]<br />
:Beret Guy: Then it will collapse in a violent explosion!<br />
:Cueball: ...do you want to borrow my charger?<br />
:Beret Guy: That would only make it run out ''faster''!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Smartphones]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>Beretshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1422:_My_Phone_is_Dying&diff=1575371422: My Phone is Dying2018-05-24T03:19:05Z<p>Berets: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1422<br />
| date = September 17, 2014<br />
| title = My Phone is Dying<br />
| image = my_phone_is_dying.png<br />
| titletext = When it explodes, it will cast off its outer layers, leaving behind nothing but a slowly fading PalmPilot, calculator, or two-way pager.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Beret Guy|Beret Guy's]] phone is about to "die". [[Cueball]] assumes this just means that the battery is running out and it needs to be recharged, but the phone in question appears to "die" in a way analogous to the {{w|Stellar_evolution|life and death}} of a star: expending its fuel while heating up and expanding before ultimately losing its outer layers and becoming a white dwarf or similar "lesser" star. However, this is something phones usually don't do.{{Citation needed}} <br />
<br />
Stars constantly undergo fusion reactions. The pressure generated by these reactions counteracts gravity, preventing it from collapsing the star during its main lifespan. As the hydrogen mostly fuses into helium in the core, the core gradually becomes more dense and the region of fusion gradually moves away from the center. Then, the star grows in size, reaching the stage of a {{w|red giant}}. When most of the "fuel" for fusion has been consumed, gravity will collapse the star into a {{w|white dwarf}} while the outer layers are shed. For stars much more massive than the Sun, there will be a {{w|supernova}} explosion caused by a violent collapse, which is {{what if|73|very powerful}} (and leaves behind a {{w|neutron star}} or a {{w|black hole}}, depending on how much mass is left after the supernova). Stars with more hydrogen fuel tend to burn brighter and faster. Beret Guy's refusal of a charger is probably a reference to this.<br />
<br />
Both a supernova explosion and the collapse of red giants into white dwarfs shed their outer layers, which is referenced in the title text. Once extra mass is added to the dying star, analogous to "charging", the process only accelerates. The phone seems to have a certain mass because [[Beret Guy]] expects it to go (super)nova. Charging the phone may lead to a {{w|Nova|type 1a nova}}.<br />
<br />
The comic also plays on the release of two new {{w|IPhone|iPhone models}} with {{w|IPhone 6|bigger}} screens, planned for 2 days after the release of the comic.<br />
<br />
The comic could be also explained by the characteristics of Li-ion batteries, which are used in most cellphones. At the end of their useful life, these batteries grow a bit {{Citation needed}}. In case of severe physical or thermal damage or multiple electrical failures, this type of battery can indeed overheat, leading to a {{w|thermal runaway}} reaction inside. That would result in the battery [http://barnson.org/node/1842 growing] and eventually exploding. Connecting a charger to a battery failing in this manner would probably make the process faster [http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/safety_concerns_with_li_ion].<br />
<br />
The title text implies that after Beret Guy's iPhone goes (super)nova, it will become either a "slowly fading" Palm Pilot, a calculator, or a two way pager: this would be the cellphone equivalent of a {{w|white dwarf}} (evidenced by the faint and slowly fading glow), {{w|neutron star}}, or {{w|black hole}} (evidence: black holes emit "information" in the form of {{w|Hawking radiation}} and have at one time been suspected to be half of a two-way portal through spacetime, along with a "{{w|white hole}}").<br />
<br />
Additionally, some particles and atoms decay by breaking into smaller, more elementary particles. It may be humorously implied that a {{w|PalmPilot}} (an early personal data assistant and precursor to the smartphone), a {{w|calculator}} (a very simple electronic device), and {{w|two-way pager}} (a device for sending and receiving short text messages) are the more elementary components that make up an iPhone.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
[Beret Guy walks on-panel, carrying a smartphone.]<br />
:Beret Guy: My phone's about to die.<br />
[The phone is now subtly larger.]<br />
:Cueball: Where'd you get a big iPhone? I didn't think they were out yet.<br />
:Beret Guy: It's my regular one. It's just dying.<br />
[The phone increases in size again. Beret Guy now holds it in both hands.]<br />
:Beret Guy: As it consumes its battery, it heats up and expands. Soon it will swell to enormous size, engulfing us both.<br />
[The phone is now the size of Beret Guy's torso; he is clutching it to himself. Cueball is pointing off-panel.]<br />
:Beret Guy: Then it will collapse in a violent explosion!<br />
:Cueball: ...do you want to borrow my charger?<br />
:Beret Guy: That would only make it run out ''faster''!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Smartphones]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>Berets