3280: Maze

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Maze
As a side effect of the research, mice are now the only known animals other than humans to have developed a Backrooms mythology.
Title text: As a side effect of the research, mice are now the only known animals other than humans to have developed a Backrooms mythology.

    Explanation[edit]

    This is one of 46 incomplete explanations:
    This page was found by the mouse in the maze.. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

    This comic references a common task used to benchmark cognitive functioning in mice, speed of maze-solving. For example, if testing whether XYZ compound impairs mouse spatial reasoning (or something like that), scientists might use the compound on n mice and not use the compound on n other mice, then compare the average maze-solving speed between the two groups. In such studies, the maze is designed to be solvable with one (or more) possible routes from the start point to the finish.

    Supposedly, these 'scientists' have been using mice in mazes for over 100 years for the main purpose of finding a mouse that can solve the maze, and they are having a press conference because they finally found one. Having the mouse solve the maze is not usually the point of the experiment; the mouse's performance is simply a convenient benchmark to test some other experimental condition.

    The title text references a fictional liminal space called the The Backrooms, which is known for being infinite and maze-like. In 2026, the film Backrooms was released based on this "mythology". In this case, relative to a mouse, a moderately-sized maze for a human would be labyrinthian to a mouse, thereby creating the impression of an infinite maze. It is common for many human "mythologies" or stories to be based on a fear of the unknown, or on exaggerations or extrapolations of real fear-inducing phenomena; in this case the Backrooms are based on the unsettling phenomenon of liminal spaces and the familiar human fear of getting lost in an unfamiliar place. The title text implies that mice, because of their own experiences with mazes, have also developed their own Backrooms-like "mythology". Mice have not been known to do this in real life — yet.[citation needed]

    This could also reference the popular book and film The Maze Runner, where a group of children are put into the center of a maze with no memory of who they are other than their names and must try to find a way out before they die (this could have been a much better explanation, but I don’t want to spoil anything for people who are or are going to read The Maze Runner).

    Transcript[edit]

    This is one of 32 incomplete transcripts:
    Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the transcript!
    [A lab scene showing a large table on which is a maze, with walls about 3" (8 cm) high and open on the top so you can see the maze. Cueball, wearing a lab coat, is standing next to the table, looking at a small mouse that he is holding high in his right hand. Next to him is Megan, also in a lab coat, holding her left hand in the air and standing behind a podium as if speaking to an audience.]
    [Caption below comic:]
    Research breakthrough: After over a century of trials, scientists have finally found a mouse that can solve the maze.


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    Discussion

    Randall Munroe is the first cartoonist to draw stick figures. "3280: Maze." He is 41 years old. 2607:FB90:CFA4:63E:AD2:6957:813D:A492 20:52, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

    I get the backrooms reference, but not the maze. Is that to do with theology/mythology in some way? Radish (talk) 20:37, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

    Updated to what my take is 70.109.62.172 21:14, 3 August 2026 (UTC)
    To me, it referenced dystopian fiction, and specifically The Maze Runner, in a play on the word 'trials', which always seems to be used to describe what the unwilling participants are put through. (Hopefully the mice aren't killing each other in the maze until only one emerges alive, though.) 82.13.184.33 08:37, 4 August 2026 (UTC)
    Yes, I agree 2406:8800:81:B146:CB6:953C:F9E0:8CF4 07:43, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

    Goodhart's Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure". 104.129.192.105 22:04, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

    in my first ever edit, i removed a spelling error (on n mice) to (on mice) 71.126.244.113 (talk) 22:58, 3 August 2026 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

    Don't forget to sign your posts in here with four tildes in a row. Also, Muphrys law is in effect. 153.107.87.195 00:16, 4 August 2026 (UTC)
    And I corrected the "errror" to "error", thus meta-editing it. 24.123.140.66 00:20, 4 August 2026 (UTC)
    Not sure editing other people's comments is particularly good form, though, even if it is to correct spilling errors. 82.13.184.33 08:40, 4 August 2026 (UTC)
    Shame it was an erroneous fix, but someone else came by to fix the fix. 52.213.77.206 06:50, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

    Sometimes it feels like Randall came up with a good joke for the alt-text and then had to make a mediocre main comic to justify it... 2601:241:8002:3E0:702D:290D:92EC:2FF4 00:05, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

    In George Gamov's book 1,2,3 infinity, Joke in the text: One Hungarian aristocrat challenged another to name the biggest number. He said "3". The other thought a while and said "You win". Joke in the footnote: Group of H.A.s got lost. One gets out a map and studies on it. Finally he says "Aha! I know where we are" The others asked "where?". "You see that big tall peak over there?" Yes" "We're on top of it!". Now, you were accusing Randall Monroe of something?Lordpishky (talk) 02:14, 7 August 2026 (UTC)
    There's normally at least something funny about the comic. :( 2407:7000:AF11:FD00:EE3B:AA9:A81C:6FBE 01:34, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

    Finally Decided to make an account here 5692Wraith (talk) 21:54, 4 August 2026 (UTC)

    I'm not convinced the rear exit is meant to be entirely blocked off - I think it is meant to be accessible from the left (as we're looking at it), which would mean there is a route to complete it from entrance to exit. There is, though, a separate question as to why the mouse (absent any extrinsic motivation such as expectation of food, etc.) would bother completing the maze, rather than turning around and coming out of the entrance. 82.13.184.33 14:08, 5 August 2026 (UTC)

    I agree with you re: the exit not being blocked off.
    A reward (e.g. food) might be at the exit, not tall enough to be visible.
    A really intelligent mouse might take on the task of solving the maze out of some sense of accomplishment or personal satisfaction.
    BunsenH (talk) 14:21, 5 August 2026 (UTC)
    Whereas even a relatively stupid mouse would probably just climb over the walls, since the experimenters appear to have neglected to seal the top of the maze. 82.13.184.33 14:43, 5 August 2026 (UTC)
    Maybe it is like The maze runner and they’re being chased by mini cats/grievers who only come out at night. 2406:8800:81:B146:CB6:953C:F9E0:8CF4 07:47, 10 August 2026 (UTC)
    If the maze is solvable (which I assume it’s supposed to be), then I’ve figured out the layout of the maze. If you go to the link here, set the size to 21, and paste this into the maze data field, it will show you what I believe is the maze’s layout.
    MAZE DATA: 11101010101011111010110110100111010001100111111011000110101001101101110011101110001100110101101001001100011011010110101010001110011101100001111010001101111110100000110110010111011110101000100100011101101010101000101000111111111101111111111111
    Logalex8369 (talk) 15:56, 5 August 2026 (UTC)
    @Logalex8369 -- EDIT: #BUGFIX #documentation_bugfix instructions:
    1. goto above link
    2. set "size" as 21
    3. CLICK THE BUTTON NEXT TO "SIZE" **(labeled "Action")**
    *** step 3. above was MISSING***
    4. (last, click "Regenerate")
    50.39.253.6 08:07, 6 August 2026 (UTC)
    Your maze has no exit. The comic, probably (I mean "there are other opinions", I myself am convinced,) has an exit on the opposite wall (furthest from the viewer,) 2 "cells" right (again from the viewers perspective) from the entrance. But then, I also think the maze is 10x7, and not a square, like yours is, so... 2A0D:3344:7A4B:910:5040:A5C7:ED52:7F3A 09:47, 6 August 2026 (UTC)
    Maze data with exit below 2001:67C:E60:C0C:192:42:116:110 19:06, 8 August 2026 (UTC)
    1101010101001111010110110100111010001100111111011000110101001101101110011101110001100110101101001001100011011010110101010001110011101100001111010001101111110100000110110010111011110101000100100011101101010101000101000111111111101111111111111
    Some cognitive experiments entail a maze to be solved with a computer mouse. I remembered one when I was a child and computers were rare in the humble city. In the campus near my home, a computer with a CRT plump monitor was placed in the middle of an empty room. A psychology laboratory-style program/game was running, inviting the user to trace in the maze with their cursor not touching the wall. In the afternoon I played again and again, neglecting the English feedback that I did not understand. The campus was transferred and half-abandoned for years, with precious physical instruments inveiled permanently. I have to cope with the real world with a still childish mind. And the afternoon seemingly never ends. 物灵 (talk) 12:57, 12 August 2026 (UTC)
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