Editing 1976: Friendly Questions
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | [[:Category:Social interactions| | + | {{incomplete|Created by a NORMAL HUMAN - Expand explanation, add links to previous comics with theme.. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
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+ | A common theme in xkcd is [[:Category:Social interactions|social awkwardness]]. Oftentimes [[Cueball]]/[[Randall]] will grossly overthink casual social interactions, such as small talk. | ||
In this comic, Cueball has prepared a note to himself, preparing for the said small talk with [[Hairy]], but it ultimately backfires. This is very similar to the comic [[1961: Interaction]] which came out just 5 weeks before this one. And a similar interaction between Cueball and Hairy occurs in [[1917: How to Make Friends]] from less than half a year before this comic. | In this comic, Cueball has prepared a note to himself, preparing for the said small talk with [[Hairy]], but it ultimately backfires. This is very similar to the comic [[1961: Interaction]] which came out just 5 weeks before this one. And a similar interaction between Cueball and Hairy occurs in [[1917: How to Make Friends]] from less than half a year before this comic. | ||
− | + | Cueball looks at the yellow post-it note in his hand, which tells him to start the conversation by asking some questions about the other person. In real life, this would be a nice way of starting some small talk, and it wouldn't end the conversation immediately. However, Cueball then asks Hairy how many apples he has eaten in his life, instantly destroying the conversation, as evidenced by Hairy, who can only stare at him, Cueball then leaves. Normally, one would ask questions such as "How are you" or "What have you been up to lately" instead of asking random facts of someone else's life, such as "How many apples have you eaten in your life?"{{Citation needed}} | |
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− | Normally, one would ask questions such as "How are you | ||
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− | + | In the title text, Cueball awkwardly asks Hairy to rank his thoughts in order of importance and to take part in the friendship activity of eating apples. | |
− | + | A slight side-joke is the list being numbered despite only containing one item; and the post-it being titled "Normal Human Conversation" which implies the existence of other post-its with titles such as "Abnormal Human Conversation" or "Normal Cat Conversation". However, this advice to "Ask them about themselves", specifically noted as the "first thing" after introducing yourself, was promoted to overcome society anxiety in the Periscope-based videocast of Scott Adams, creator of the "Dilbert" comic strip (see audio-only podcast [http://blog.dilbert.com/2018/04/04/episode-12-youtube-shooter-amazon-com-trade-war-and-overcoming-social-anxiety/]). Given Randall's personality and previous professional vocation (working with nerds at NASA and in academia), it is highly likely he would be a fan of the strip and also the creator's related works such as Adams's blog, Twitter feed, and the like. The real coincidence is the videocast in question likely occurred ''just a day before this comic was published''; the audio was published the same day as the comic and usually delays the video by a day. | |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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:[Cueball looks at Hairy.] | :[Cueball looks at Hairy.] | ||
:Cueball: How many...apples...have you eaten? | :Cueball: How many...apples...have you eaten? | ||
− | :Hairy: ... | + | :Hairy: ...Like, in my life? |
:Cueball: Yes. | :Cueball: Yes. | ||
:Hairy: ... | :Hairy: ... | ||
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[[Category:Comics with color]] | [[Category:Comics with color]] | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] | ||
[[Category:Social interactions]] | [[Category:Social interactions]] |