863: Major in the Universe - Revision history

82.132.239.241: /* Explanation */ Tidied up (mostly) some awkward commaing.

2026-01-20T15:56:13Z

‎Explanation: Tidied up (mostly) some awkward commaing.

Lettherebedarklight: /* Explanation */ re-rearrange

2026-01-20T08:57:56Z

‎Explanation: re-rearrange

Lettherebedarklight: /* Explanation */ rearrange

2026-01-20T08:54:41Z

‎Explanation: rearrange

Tromag: /* Explanation */

2025-05-14T19:17:50Z

‎Explanation

172.71.154.247: /* Explanation */

2024-01-23T03:14:48Z

‎Explanation

172.71.154.246: /* Explanation */

2024-01-23T03:13:48Z

‎Explanation

172.69.22.59: I don't know

2022-09-12T14:18:42Z

I don't know

Davidy22: Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by Theusaf

2022-05-21T02:56:35Z

Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by Theusaf

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Explain xkcd server admin at 21:35, 20 May 2022

2022-05-20T21:35:31Z

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Theusaf: Reverted edits by 👖🔥 (talk) to last revision by Jacky720

2022-05-11T18:47:48Z

Reverted edits by 👖🔥 (talk) to last revision by Jacky720

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@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-In this comic, [[Cueball]] as a college student, meeting with his adviser or professor ([[Hairbun]]) trying to decide what to major in. He decides to major in "The Universe", but when his adviser details the real work required of that major, Cueball scratches his head and responds that he just wants to "read Malcolm Gladwell books and drink".
+In this comic [[Cueball]], as a college student, is meeting with his adviser or professor ([[Hairbun]]) whilst trying to decide what to major in. He opts to major in "The Universe" but, when his adviser details the real work required of that major, Cueball scratches his head and responds that he just wants to "read Malcolm Gladwell books and drink".
-{{w|Malcolm Gladwell}} is a Canadian author who wrote such books as "The Tipping Point", "Outliers" and "Blink." His works tend to cover a wide range of topics, usually tied together by a common thread. For example, in ''{{w|Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Blink}}'', a motif of intuitive judgments ties together the examples of the {{w|Getty kouros}}, {{w|John Gottman#Predictions of divorce|John Gottman's marriage studies}}, the {{w|Millennium Challenge 2002|Millennium Challenge war game}}, {{w|Speed dating|speed dating}}, and {{w|Facial Action Coding System|Paul Ekman's FACS}}, to name a few.
+{{w|Malcolm Gladwell}} is a Canadian author who wrote such books as "The Tipping Point", "Outliers" and "Blink." His works tend to cover a wide range of topics, usually tied together by a common thread. For example, in ''{{w|Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Blink}}'', a motif of intuitive judgments ties together the examples of the {{w|Getty kouros}}, {{w|John Gottman#Predictions of divorce|John Gottman's marriage studies}}, the {{w|Millennium Challenge 2002|Millennium Challenge war game}}, {{w|Speed dating|speed dating}} and {{w|Facial Action Coding System|Paul Ekman's FACS}}, to name a few.
 Gladwell's books are highly popular for being entertaining and eloquent, but are sometimes criticized for addressing the various subjects superficially, providing an incomplete picture, which may be used to draw overly broad conclusions.
-Bascially, Cueball wants to be exposed to multiple ideas, in a simple, accessible, and entertaining way, but is unwilling to study and research deeply enough to become truly educated in any of them.
+Bascially, Cueball wants to be exposed to multiple ideas in a simple, accessible and entertaining way, but is unwilling to study and research deeply enough to become truly educated in any of them.
 Randall is making fun of people who claim to have a broad range of interests, but apparently only want to deflect attention from the fact that they are too lazy to master any specific subject.
-The authors and presenters in the title text are all known for creating content that deals with intellectual content, but produce it for a general audience, rather than for academics or experts. In consequence, they generally don't deal with the kinds of details, data, and methodology required to genuinely understand a topic, instead presenting a polished narrative with conclusions already drawn, and just enough data to support those conclusions. These kinds of writers tend to be popular with readers who consider themselves to be educated and curious, but the implicit danger is that people might imagine that they're gaining a real education, rather that just receiving high-brow entertainment.
+The authors and presenters in the title text are all known for creating content that deals with intellectual content but produce it for a general audience, rather than for academics or experts. In consequence, they generally don't deal with the kinds of details, data and methodology required to genuinely understand a topic, instead presenting a polished narrative with conclusions already drawn, and just enough data to support those conclusions. These kinds of writers tend to be popular with readers who consider themselves to be educated and curious, but the implicit danger is that people might imagine that they're gaining a real education, rather that just receiving high-brow entertainment.
 They are:
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 * {{w|Robert Krulwich}}, science correspondent for {{w|NPR}} (National Public Radio, for those outside of the US) and a co-host of the show {{w|Radiolab}}; and
-* {{w|A. J. Jacobs}}, a journalist who immerses himself in different ideas and lives them out for periods of time. For example, he lived for a year according to {{w|The Year of Living Biblically|all the rules in the bible literally}}.
+* {{w|A. J. Jacobs}}, a journalist who immerses himself in different ideas and lives them out for periods of time. For example, he lived for a year according to {{w|The Year of Living Biblically|all the rules in the bible, literally}}.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-In this comic, [[Cueball]] as a college student, meeting with his adviser or professor ([[Hairbun]]) trying to decide what to major in. He decides to major in "The Universe", but when his adviser details the real work required of that major, Cueball scratches his head and responds that he just wants to "read Malcolm Gladwell books and drink". This suggests that he wants to be exposed to multiple ideas, in a simple, accessible, and entertaining way, but is unwilling to study and research deeply enough to become truly educated in any of them.
+In this comic, [[Cueball]] as a college student, meeting with his adviser or professor ([[Hairbun]]) trying to decide what to major in. He decides to major in "The Universe", but when his adviser details the real work required of that major, Cueball scratches his head and responds that he just wants to "read Malcolm Gladwell books and drink".
-Randall is making fun of people who claim to have a broad range of interests, but apparently only want to deflect attention from the fact that they are too lazy to master any specific subject.
+{{w|Malcolm Gladwell}} is a Canadian author who wrote such books as "The Tipping Point", "Outliers" and "Blink." His works tend to cover a wide range of topics, usually tied together by a common thread. For example, in ''{{w|Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Blink}}'', a motif of intuitive judgments ties together the examples of the {{w|Getty kouros}}, {{w|John Gottman#Predictions of divorce|John Gottman's marriage studies}}, the {{w|Millennium Challenge 2002|Millennium Challenge war game}}, {{w|Speed dating|speed dating}}, and {{w|Facial Action Coding System|Paul Ekman's FACS}}, to name a few.
-{{w|Malcolm Gladwell}} is a Canadian author who wrote such books as "The Tipping Point", "Outliers" and "Blink." His works tend to cover a wide range of topics, usually tied together by a common thread. For example, in ''{{w|Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Blink}}'', a motif of intuitive judgments ties together the examples of the {{w|Getty kouros}}, {{w|John Gottman#Predictions of divorce|John Gottman's marriage studies}}, the {{w|Millennium Challenge 2002|Millennium Challenge war game}}, {{w|Speed dating|speed dating}}, and {{w|Facial Action Coding System|Paul Ekman's FACS}}, to name a few.
+Bascially, Cueball wants to be exposed to multiple ideas, in a simple, accessible, and entertaining way, but is unwilling to study and research deeply enough to become truly educated in any of them.
-Gladwell's books are highly popular for being entertaining and eloquent, but are sometimes criticized for addressing the various subjects superficially, providing an incomplete picture, which may be used to draw overly broad conclusions.
+Randall is making fun of people who claim to have a broad range of interests, but apparently only want to deflect attention from the fact that they are too lazy to master any specific subject.
 The authors and presenters in the title text are all known for creating content that deals with intellectual content, but produce it for a general audience, rather than for academics or experts. In consequence, they generally don't deal with the kinds of details, data, and methodology required to genuinely understand a topic, instead presenting a polished narrative with conclusions already drawn, and just enough data to support those conclusions. These kinds of writers tend to be popular with readers who consider themselves to be educated and curious, but the implicit danger is that people might imagine that they're gaining a real education, rather that just receiving high-brow entertainment.
-{{w|Steven Levitt}} is one of the co-authors of the book ''{{w|Freakonomics}}'' and the Freakonomics blog on NYTimes.com.
+They are:
-{{w|Robert Krulwich}} is a science correspondent for {{w|NPR}} (National Public Radio, for those outside of the US) and a co-host of the show {{w|Radiolab}}.
+* {{w|Robert Krulwich}}, science correspondent for {{w|NPR}} (National Public Radio, for those outside of the US) and a co-host of the show {{w|Radiolab}}; and
-{{w|A. J. Jacobs}} is a journalist who immerses himself in different ideas and lives them out for periods of time. For example, he lived for a year according to {{w|The Year of Living Biblically|all the rules in the bible literally}}.
+* {{w|A. J. Jacobs}}, a journalist who immerses himself in different ideas and lives them out for periods of time. For example, he lived for a year according to {{w|The Year of Living Biblically|all the rules in the bible literally}}.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-Several authors are referenced here. {{w|Malcolm Gladwell}} is a Canadian author who wrote such books as "The Tipping Point", "Outliers" and "Blink." His works tend to cover a wide range of topics, usually tied together by a common thread. For example, in ''{{w|Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Blink}}'', a motif of intuitive judgments ties together the examples of the {{w|Getty kouros}}, {{w|John Gottman#Predictions of divorce|John Gottman's marriage studies}}, the {{w|Millennium Challenge 2002|Millennium Challenge war game}}, {{w|Speed dating|speed dating}}, and {{w|Facial Action Coding System|Paul Ekman's FACS}}, to name a few.
+In this comic, [[Cueball]] as a college student, meeting with his adviser or professor ([[Hairbun]]) trying to decide what to major in. He decides to major in "The Universe", but when his adviser details the real work required of that major, Cueball scratches his head and responds that he just wants to "read Malcolm Gladwell books and drink". This suggests that he wants to be exposed to multiple ideas, in a simple, accessible, and entertaining way, but is unwilling to study and research deeply enough to become truly educated in any of them.
-Gladwell's books are highly popular for being entertaining and eloquent, but are sometimes criticized for addressing the various subjects superficially, providing an incomplete picture, which may be used to draw overly broad conclusions.
+Randall is making fun of people who claim to have a broad range of interests, but apparently only want to deflect attention from the fact that they are too lazy to master any specific subject.
 {{w|Steven Levitt}} is one of the co-authors of the book ''{{w|Freakonomics}}'' and the Freakonomics blog on NYTimes.com.
@@ Line 17: / Line 23: @@
 {{w|A. J. Jacobs}} is a journalist who immerses himself in different ideas and lives them out for periods of time. For example, he lived for a year according to {{w|The Year of Living Biblically|all the rules in the bible literally}}.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-Several authors are referenced here. {{w|Malcolm Gladwell}} is a Canadian author who wrote such books as "The Tipping Point", "Outliers" and "Blink." {{w|Steven Levitt}} is one of the co-authors of the book ''{{w|Freakonomics}}'' and the Freakonomics blog on NYTimes.com.
+Several authors are referenced here. {{w|Malcolm Gladwell}} is a Canadian author who wrote such books as "The Tipping Point", "Outliers" and "Blink." His works tend to cover a wide range of topics, usually tied together by a common thread. For example, in ''{{w|Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Blink}}'', a motif of intuitive judgments ties together the examples of the {{w|Getty kouros}}, {{w|John Gottman#Predictions of divorce|John Gottman's marriage studies}}, the {{w|Millennium Challenge 2002|Millennium Challenge war game}}, {{w|Speed dating|speed dating}}, and {{w|Facial Action Coding System|Paul Ekman's FACS}}, to name a few.
 {{w|Robert Krulwich}} is a science correspondent for {{w|NPR}} (National Public Radio, for those outside of the US) and a co-host of the show {{w|Radiolab}}.
@@ Line 14: / Line 18: @@
 {{w|A. J. Jacobs}} is a journalist who immerses himself in different ideas and lives them out for periods of time. For example, he lived for a year according to {{w|The Year of Living Biblically|all the rules in the bible literally}}.
-In this comic, [[Cueball]] as a college student, meeting with his adviser or professor ([[Hairbun]]) trying to decide what to major in. He decides to major in "The Universe", but when his adviser details the real work required of that major, Cueball scratches his head and tells what he really means. If you have not read Malcolm Gladwell's books, their disparate parts are usually tied together by a common thread. For example, in ''{{w|Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Blink}}'', a motif of intuitive judgments ties together the examples of the {{w|Getty kouros}}, {{w|John Gottman#Predictions of divorce|John Gottman's marriage studies}}, the {{w|Millennium Challenge 2002|Millennium Challenge war game}}, {{w|Speed dating|speed dating}}, and {{w|Facial Action Coding System|Paul Ekman's FACS}}, to name a few. These books have been criticized for supposedly presenting an incomplete picture of such phenomena, but they are hugely entertaining and eloquent.
+In this comic, [[Cueball]] as a college student, meeting with his adviser or professor ([[Hairbun]]) trying to decide what to major in. He decides to major in "The Universe", but when his adviser details the real work required of that major, Cueball scratches his head and responds that he just wants to "read Malcolm Gladwell books and drink". This suggests that he wants to be exposed to multiple ideas, in a simple, accessible, and entertaining way, but is unwilling to study and research deeply enough to become truly educated in any of them.
-Randall is making fun of people who claim to have a broad range of interests, but apparently just to deflect attention from the fact that they are too lazy to master even one field. However, the title text of [[Every Major's Terrible]] says that he will someday be the first to get a PhD in "undeclared."
+The authors and presenters in the title text are all known for creating content that deals with intellectual content, but produce it for a general audience, rather than for academics or experts. In consequence, they generally don't deal with the kinds of details, data, and methodology required to genuinely understand a topic, instead presenting a polished narrative with conclusions already drawn, and just enough data to support those conclusions. These kinds of writers tend to be popular with readers who consider themselves to be educated and curious, but the implicit danger is that people might imagine that they're gaining a real education, rather that just receiving high-brow entertainment.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 In this comic, [[Cueball]] as a college student, meeting with his adviser or professor ([[Hairbun]]) trying to decide what to major in. He decides to major in "The Universe", but when his adviser details the real work required of that major, Cueball scratches his head and tells what he really means. If you have not read Malcolm Gladwell's books, their disparate parts are usually tied together by a common thread. For example, in ''{{w|Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Blink}}'', a motif of intuitive judgments ties together the examples of the {{w|Getty kouros}}, {{w|John Gottman#Predictions of divorce|John Gottman's marriage studies}}, the {{w|Millennium Challenge 2002|Millennium Challenge war game}}, {{w|Speed dating|speed dating}}, and {{w|Facial Action Coding System|Paul Ekman's FACS}}, to name a few. These books have been criticized for supposedly presenting an incomplete picture of such phenomena, but they are hugely entertaining and eloquent.
-Randall is making fun of people who claim to have a broad range of interests, but apparently just to deflect attention from the fact that they are too lazy to master even one field. However, the title text of [[1052: Every Major’s Terrible]] says that he will someday be the first to get a PhD in "undeclared."
+Randall is making fun of people who claim to have a broad range of interests, but apparently just to deflect attention from the fact that they are too lazy to master even one field. However, the title text of [[Every Major's Terrible]] says that he will someday be the first to get a PhD in "undeclared."
 ==Transcript==