1516: Win by Induction - Revision history

Boilersuit: /* Explanation */

2025-08-26T12:52:19Z

‎Explanation

82.132.245.240: /* Explanation */ Singular

2025-08-19T13:43:15Z

‎Explanation: Singular

82.203.166.218: Pikachu was assumed to be male for some reason.

2025-08-19T05:00:46Z

Pikachu was assumed to be male for some reason.

172.71.90.86 at 18:20, 9 November 2024

2024-11-09T18:20:05Z

JLZ0kTC5 at 10:51, 20 November 2022

2022-11-20T10:51:19Z

Jacky720: rv

2022-05-04T21:28:53Z

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Ex Kay Cee Dee at 21:27, 4 May 2022

2022-05-04T21:27:58Z

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Jacky720: rv

2022-05-04T21:14:05Z

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Ex Kay Cee Dee at 21:13, 4 May 2022

2022-05-04T21:13:51Z

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Jacky720: rv

2022-05-04T20:56:08Z

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@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 In the ''{{w|Pokémon}}'' franchise, human characters called Trainers capture fantastical creatures from the wild, the titular Pokémon (a shortened form of "Pocket Monsters"), and train them to battle one another. Pokémon are captured and stored in devices called Poké Balls, which shrink the creatures down to pocket size (hence "Pocket Monsters"). The anime's English dub has enshrined the phrase "''<Pokémon's name>'', I choose you!" into popular culture memory in english-speaking countries. When Trainers do battle, they often shout this phrase while throwing the ball to the ground, releasing the Pokémon at full size.
-In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}} (the "poster child" for Pokémon, and the most publicly-known type), which does not intend to engage in the battle themself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for them. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.
+In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}} (the "poster child" for Pokémon, and the most publicly known type), which does not intend to engage in the battle itself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for it. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.
 Nearby stands [[Cueball]], holding a closed Pokéball, and [[Megan]], looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting to see which enemy his Pokémon must face before the battle can actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan is growing impatient with the delay. Given that Cueball is holding a closed Pokéball he has not deployed yet, Megan cannot herself be his Pokémon. She could be his opponent, a spectator, or teammate.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 In the ''{{w|Pokémon}}'' franchise, human characters called Trainers capture fantastical creatures from the wild, the titular Pokémon (a shortened form of "Pocket Monsters"), and train them to battle one another. Pokémon are captured and stored in devices called Poké Balls, which shrink the creatures down to pocket size (hence "Pocket Monsters"). The anime's English dub has enshrined the phrase "''<Pokémon's name>'', I choose you!" into popular culture memory in english-speaking countries. When Trainers do battle, they often shout this phrase while throwing the ball to the ground, releasing the Pokémon at full size.
-In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}} (the "poster child" for Pokémon, and the most publicly-known type), which does not intend to engage in the battle themselves. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for them. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.
+In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}} (the "poster child" for Pokémon, and the most publicly-known type), which does not intend to engage in the battle themself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for them. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.
 Nearby stands [[Cueball]], holding a closed Pokéball, and [[Megan]], looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting to see which enemy his Pokémon must face before the battle can actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan is growing impatient with the delay. Given that Cueball is holding a closed Pokéball he has not deployed yet, Megan cannot herself be his Pokémon. She could be his opponent, a spectator, or teammate.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 }}
 ==Explanation==
-In the ''{{w|Pokémon}}'' franchise, human characters called Trainers capture fantastical creatures from the wild, the titular Pokémon (a shortened form of "Pocket Monsters"), and train them to battle one another. Pokémon are captured and stored in devices called Poké Balls, which shrink the creatures down to pocket size (hence "Pocket Monsters"). The anime's English dub has enshrined the phrase "''<Pokémon's name>'', I choose you!" into popular culture memory. When Trainers do battle, they often shout this phrase while throwing the ball to the ground, releasing the Pokémon at full size.
+In the ''{{w|Pokémon}}'' franchise, human characters called Trainers capture fantastical creatures from the wild, the titular Pokémon (a shortened form of "Pocket Monsters"), and train them to battle one another. Pokémon are captured and stored in devices called Poké Balls, which shrink the creatures down to pocket size (hence "Pocket Monsters"). The anime's English dub has enshrined the phrase "''<Pokémon's name>'', I choose you!" into popular culture memory in english-speaking countries. When Trainers do battle, they often shout this phrase while throwing the ball to the ground, releasing the Pokémon at full size.
-In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}} (the "poster child" for Pokémon, and the most publicly-known type), which does not intend to engage in the battle himself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.
+In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}} (the "poster child" for Pokémon, and the most publicly-known type), which does not intend to engage in the battle themselves. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for them. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.
 Nearby stands [[Cueball]], holding a closed Pokéball, and [[Megan]], looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting to see which enemy his Pokémon must face before the battle can actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan is growing impatient with the delay. Given that Cueball is holding a closed Pokéball he has not deployed yet, Megan cannot herself be his Pokémon. She could be his opponent, a spectator, or teammate.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}} (the "poster child" for Pokémon, and the most publicly-known type), which does not intend to engage in the battle himself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.
-Nearby stands [[Cueball]], holding a closed Pokéball, and [[Megan]], looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting to see which enemy his Pokémon must face before the battle can actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan is growing impatient with the delay. Given that Cueball is holding a closed Pokéball he has not deployed yet, Megan cannot herself be his Pokémon. She could be his opponent, or a spectator.
+Nearby stands [[Cueball]], holding a closed Pokéball, and [[Megan]], looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting to see which enemy his Pokémon must face before the battle can actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan is growing impatient with the delay. Given that Cueball is holding a closed Pokéball he has not deployed yet, Megan cannot herself be his Pokémon. She could be his opponent, a spectator, or teammate.
 The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof about a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps, each step leading to the next. Induction proves an assertion is true for one case, and then infers that it must also be true for all related cases. The title suggests that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will never end, effectively postponing the battle indefinitely. But the title is '''win''' by induction, by which Randall implies that we have been given enough information to reason logically whether Megan or Cueball will win. We have here turned mathematical induction on its head: part of the humor in the comic is that the logic of induction doesn't work in reverse. We cannot reason about an initial case by inferring something from a related case whose proof is dependent on knowledge about the initial case. Or perhaps the "win" referred to is precisely that the battle is indefinitely postponed.

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 Nearby stands [[Cueball]], holding a closed Pokéball, and [[Megan]], looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting to see which enemy his Pokémon must face before the battle can actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan is growing impatient with the delay. Given that Cueball is holding a closed Pokéball he has not deployed yet, Megan cannot herself be his Pokémon. She could be his opponent, or a spectator.
-The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof about a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps, each step leading to the next. Induction proves an assertion is true for one case, and then infers that it must also be true for all related cases. The title suggests that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will never end, effectively postponing the battle indefinitely. But the title is '''win''' by induction, by which Randall implies that we have been given enough information to reason logically whether Megan or Cueball will win. We have here turned mathematical induction on its head: part of the humour in the comic is that the logic of induction doesn't work in reverse. We cannot reason about an initial case by inferring something from a related case whose proof is dependent on knowledge about the initial case. Or perhaps the "win" referred to is precisely that the battle is indefinitely postponed.
+The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof about a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps, each step leading to the next. Induction proves an assertion is true for one case, and then infers that it must also be true for all related cases. The title suggests that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will never end, effectively postponing the battle indefinitely. But the title is '''win''' by induction, by which Randall implies that we have been given enough information to reason logically whether Megan or Cueball will win. We have here turned mathematical induction on its head: part of the humor in the comic is that the logic of induction doesn't work in reverse. We cannot reason about an initial case by inferring something from a related case whose proof is dependent on knowledge about the initial case. Or perhaps the "win" referred to is precisely that the battle is indefinitely postponed.
 The name "induction" comes from logic and discrete mathematics, and is thus unrelated to the physical phenomena of {{w|electromagnetic induction}}; but the fact that Pikachu is an "Electric-type" Pokémon could be word play connecting the two ideas.