899: Number Line - Revision history

108.217.217.52: Gird: biblical canon

2026-04-08T13:44:16Z

Gird: biblical canon

84.2.105.163: /* Explanation */

2026-03-03T07:08:11Z

‎Explanation

R128: /* Trivia */ rephrase without double parentheses

2025-12-08T15:16:17Z

‎Trivia: rephrase without double parentheses

WaddleDeo: Copyediting. Also, some added stuff, it's a whole thing.

2024-12-06T20:03:19Z

Copyediting. Also, some added stuff, it's a whole thing.

172.68.110.188: /* Explanation */

2024-08-22T13:12:42Z

‎Explanation

108.162.221.24: /* Explanation */

2024-07-31T15:48:09Z

‎Explanation

172.69.71.68: /* Explanation */ Why is this a Wikipedia link? None of the pages mentioned on the disambiguation are relevant.

2024-07-19T02:30:13Z

‎Explanation: Why is this a Wikipedia link? None of the pages mentioned on the disambiguation are relevant.

172.71.22.46: /* Explanation */ I don't think there's any other evidence for this being a "reference" other than using slightly similar generic phrasing

2024-07-19T02:28:17Z

‎Explanation: I don't think there's any other evidence for this being a "reference" other than using slightly similar generic phrasing

172.69.195.175: /* Explanation */

2024-07-12T10:48:33Z

‎Explanation

Megan: similar ideas in 2956: Number Line Branch

2024-07-12T06:59:00Z

similar ideas in 2956: Number Line Branch

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 **'''2.9299372''' is roughly the average of e and π. It being listed as "e and π, observed" is probably a {{w|President's Day}} reference. It is the average of e and π just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.
-*'''Gird''', '''ᛟ''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230908075930/http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].). The glyph bears some resamblance to the {{w|odal rune}} but given its associations (especially in the version with {{w|serifs}}) this was probably unintentional. Canon and orthodox could mean "accepted as the official story" and "most science-based followers", but most likely serve as reference to organised religions. Other fictional numbers include: (Which Gird may or (most likely) may not be a reference to)
+*'''Gird''', '''ᛟ''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230908075930/http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].). The glyph bears some resemblance to the {{w|odal rune}} but given its associations (especially in the version with {{w|serifs}}) this was probably unintentional. Canon and orthodox could mean "accepted as the official story" and "most science-based followers", but most likely serve as reference to organised religions. (For example, the Eastern Orthodox church considers 3 Maccabees to be part of the {{w|biblical canon}}, but the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches do not.) Other fictional numbers include: (Which Gird may or (most likely) may not be a reference to)
 **[http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/the-secret-number/ Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4
 **iCarly's [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 *The last entry seems to be a reference to certain fields of {{w|pure mathematics}}, which focus less on performing calculations with numbers and more on understanding structures that may be described using logic. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.
-**A possible alternate reason for suggesting that any digit beyond 8 (i.e. 9) would not be 'real' mathematics is {{w|Benford's law}}. Taken at the level of individual digits, true data tends to have far fewer 9s in it than (in decimal representation) any other non-zero digit. While it would not be true to say that the presence of a 9 itself indicates invalid values, concocted or stochastically randomized values may have far more 9s than would naturally emerge from true data. Any use of those numbers would then be based upon lies, and highly suspect. The two-digit 10, also illustrated, might be excluded from any analysis of digit-frequency, or (prominently featuring a trailing zero) might further underline the point by being being more likely rounded to the nearest ten (or even a convenient [[2205: Types of Approximation|order of magnitude]]), where its [[2696: Precision vs Accuracy|accuracy and precision]] are both more open to doubt than in the case of either 9 or (also neighbouring it, though not shown here or necessarily subject to any comment) 11.
+**A possible alternate reason for suggesting that any digit beyond 8 (i.e. 9) would not be 'real' mathematics is {{w|Benford's law}}. Taken at the level of individual digits, true data tends to have far fewer 9s in it than (in decimal representation) any other non-zero digit. While it would not be true to say that the presence of a 9 itself indicates invalid values, concocted or stochastically randomized values may have far more 9s than would naturally emerge from true data. Any use of those numbers would then be based upon lies, and highly suspect. The two-digit 10, also illustrated, might be excluded from any analysis of digit-frequency, or (prominently featuring a trailing zero) might further underline the point by being more likely rounded to the nearest ten (or even a convenient [[2205: Types of Approximation|order of magnitude]]), where its [[2696: Precision vs Accuracy|accuracy and precision]] are both more open to doubt than in the case of either 9 or (also neighbouring it, though not shown here or necessarily subject to any comment) 11.
 The title text is a literalism joke; at the time the comic was published, all Wikipedia articles with incomplete lists began with the message template "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it." In the case of the {{w|List of numbers}} page, one could infer the absurd notion that Wikipedia wanted to have the list include every number from negative infinity to infinity. But because all Wikipedia articles are necessarily finite, such a list would always be incomplete, no matter how much it was expanded. It may also be referencing his previous statements about Wikipedia being the home of compulsive list-makers, who make the most astonishingly complete lists imaginable.

@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 * As for the "Gird" between 3 and 4, one might argue that the arithmetic square root of 11 may have some "integer" properties, because there exists an integer-to-integer{{Actual citation needed}} function f(x) such that f(f(x))=11x. (details needed)
-* The "unexplored" area is actually famous for some numbers, such as twice π (also known as tau (τ), approximately 6.283185).
+* The "unexplored" area is actually famous for some numbers, such as twice π, also known as tau (τ), with a value of approximately 6.283185.
 {{comic discussion}}
 [[Category:Math]]
 [[Category:Wikipedia]]

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 * The approximate range from 2.1 to 2.3 is marked as '''The Forbidden Region'''. Why Randall marked this range as forbidden is really anyone's guess; it seems to be an entirely arbitrary designation.
-*'''{{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}}''' (Euler's number) is 2.71828... and '''π''' (pi) is 3.14159265...
+*'''{{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}}''' (Euler's number) is 2.71828... and '''π''' (pi) is 3.14159265... and…
-*'''2.9299372''' is probably a {{w|President's Day}} reference. It is the average of e and π just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.
+**'''2.9299372''' is roughly the average of e and π. It being listed as "e and π, observed" is probably a {{w|President's Day}} reference. It is the average of e and π just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.
-*'''Gird''', '''ᛟ''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230908075930/http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].). The glyph bears some resamblance to the {{w|odal rune}} but given its associations (especially in the version with {{w|serifs}}) this was probably unintentional. Canon and orthodox could mean "accepted as the offical story" and "most science-based followers", but they could also reference to organised religions. Gird could be a reference to any or all of:
+*'''Gird''', '''ᛟ''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230908075930/http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].). The glyph bears some resamblance to the {{w|odal rune}} but given its associations (especially in the version with {{w|serifs}}) this was probably unintentional. Canon and orthodox could mean "accepted as the official story" and "most science-based followers", but most likely serve as reference to organised religions. Other fictional numbers include: (Which Gird may or (most likely) may not be a reference to)
 **[http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/the-secret-number/ Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4
 **iCarly's [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6
 **George Carlin's [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleen Bleen] - a fictional integer between 6 and 7
 **[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-033 SCP-033] - a fictional "missed number" consisting of complex formulae that causes mathematical systems to break down when it is introduced to them (manifesting as the physical destruction of the objects the mathematical formulae are contained in, such as paper and computers)
-**Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal's [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3913 Sorf] - a fictional integer between 2 and 3 <!--This is incorrect as the SMBC comic is predated by this xkcd-->
+**Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal's [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3913 Sorf] - a fictional integer between 2 and 3 (Please note that this SMBC comic postdates this xkcd comic.)
 *'''Site of Battle of 4.108''' is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. 4.108 was also referenced in [[2861: X Value]], though with an added 3 in the ten-thousandths place.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 *It is often the case in the media that "It has been 7 years..." or "In the last 7 years..." etc. It is made to seem like a believable statistic but cannot always be true. Alternatively, it is intended as an absurd joke that the number 7 is just "not to be believed".
-*'''8''' is not the largest even {{w|prime number}}, nor is it a prime at all. The largest (and only) even prime is 2 (which is a subprime number). A joke intended for those who clearly know that the claim is false.
+*'''8''' is not the largest even {{w|prime number}}, nor is it a prime at all. The largest (and only) even prime is 2 (which is a subprime number). A joke intended for those who clearly know that the claim is false. (However, it is also possible that the number of numbers in the unexplored region is such that 8 is in fact now prime.)
 *The last entry seems to be a reference to certain fields of {{w|pure mathematics}}, which focus less on performing calculations with numbers and more on understanding structures that may be described using logic. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.
-**A possible alternate reason for suggesting that any digit beyond 8 (i.e. 9) would not be 'real' mathematics is {{w|Benford's law}}. Taken at the level of individual digits, true data tends to have far fewer 9s in it than (in decimal representation) any other non-zero digit. While it would not be true to say that the presence of a 9 itself indicates invalid values, concocted or stochastically randomised values may have far more 9s than would naturally emerge from true data. Any use of those numbers would then be based upon lies, and highly suspect. The two-digit 10, also illustrated, might be excluded from any analysis of digit-frequency, or (prominantly featuring a trailing zero) might further underline the point by being being more likely rounded to the nearest ten (or even a convenient [[2205: Types of Approximation|order of magnitude]]), where its [[2696: Precision vs Accuracy|accuracy and precision]] are both more open to doubt than in the case of either 9 or (also neighbouring it, though not shown here or necessarily subject to any comment) 11.
+**A possible alternate reason for suggesting that any digit beyond 8 (i.e. 9) would not be 'real' mathematics is {{w|Benford's law}}. Taken at the level of individual digits, true data tends to have far fewer 9s in it than (in decimal representation) any other non-zero digit. While it would not be true to say that the presence of a 9 itself indicates invalid values, concocted or stochastically randomized values may have far more 9s than would naturally emerge from true data. Any use of those numbers would then be based upon lies, and highly suspect. The two-digit 10, also illustrated, might be excluded from any analysis of digit-frequency, or (prominently featuring a trailing zero) might further underline the point by being being more likely rounded to the nearest ten (or even a convenient [[2205: Types of Approximation|order of magnitude]]), where its [[2696: Precision vs Accuracy|accuracy and precision]] are both more open to doubt than in the case of either 9 or (also neighbouring it, though not shown here or necessarily subject to any comment) 11.
 The title text is a literalism joke; at the time the comic was published, all Wikipedia articles with incomplete lists began with the message template "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it." In the case of the {{w|List of numbers}} page, one could infer the absurd notion that Wikipedia wanted to have the list include every number from negative infinity to infinity. But because all Wikipedia articles are necessarily finite, such a list would always be incomplete, no matter how much it was expanded. It may also be referencing his previous statements about Wikipedia being the home of compulsive list-makers, who make the most astonishingly complete lists imaginable.
@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 == Trivia ==
-* As for the "Gird" between 3 and 4, one might argue that the arithmetic square root of 11 may have some "integer" properties, because there exists an integer-to-integer{{Citation needed}} function f(x) such that f(f(x))=11x. (details needed)
+* As for the "Gird" between 3 and 4, one might argue that the arithmetic square root of 11 may have some "integer" properties, because there exists an integer-to-integer{{Actual citation needed}} function f(x) such that f(f(x))=11x. (details needed)
 * The "unexplored" area is actually famous for some numbers, such as twice π (also known as tau (τ), approximately 6.283185).

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 *'''2.9299372''' is probably a {{w|President's Day}} reference. It is the average of e and π just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.
-*'''Gird''', '''ᛟ''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230908075930/http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].). Canon and orthodox could mean "accepted as the offical story" and "most science-based followers", but they could also reference to organised religions. Gird could be a reference to any or all of:
+*'''Gird''', '''ᛟ''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230908075930/http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].). The glyph bears some resamblance to the {{w|odal rune}} but given its associations (especially in the version with {{w|serifs}}) this was probably unintentional. Canon and orthodox could mean "accepted as the offical story" and "most science-based followers", but they could also reference to organised religions. Gird could be a reference to any or all of:
 **[http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/the-secret-number/ Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4
 **iCarly's [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 **Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal's [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3913 Sorf] - a fictional integer between 2 and 3 <!--This is incorrect as the SMBC comic is predated by this xkcd-->
-*'''Site of Battle of 4.108''' is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. It may be a reference (or homage) to the {{w|Battle of Wolf 359}}, a famous military conflict in the fictional universe of Star Trek. 4.108 was also referenced in [[2861: X Value]], though with an added 3 in the ten-thousandths place.
+*'''Site of Battle of 4.108''' is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. 4.108 was also referenced in [[2861: X Value]], though with an added 3 in the ten-thousandths place.
 *An '''Unexplored''' region obscures the line approximately ranging all values from 4.5 to 6.7. In the days when the Earth was still being mapped out, territories that had yet to be properly explored and charted were labelled in a similar manner. The placement of the '''Unexplored''' region on the number line indicates that all numbers in that range, including the integers 5 and 6, are completely unknown. This is, of course, patently ridiculous,{{cn}} and the humor seems to derive solely from how nonsensical and unbelievable it is. Correspondingly, the digits 5 and 6 cannot be found in the comic.

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:48, 12 July 2024
Line 39:		Line 39:

	*The last entry seems to be a reference to certain fields of {{w\|pure mathematics}}, which focus less on performing calculations with numbers and more on understanding structures that may be described using logic. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.		*The last entry seems to be a reference to certain fields of {{w\|pure mathematics}}, which focus less on performing calculations with numbers and more on understanding structures that may be described using logic. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.
		+	**A possible alternate reason for suggesting that any digit beyond 8 (i.e. 9) would not be 'real' mathematics is {{w\|Benford's law}}. Taken at the level of individual digits, true data tends to have far fewer 9s in it than (in decimal representation) any other non-zero digit. While it would not be true to say that the presence of a 9 itself indicates invalid values, concocted or stochastically randomised values may have far more 9s than would naturally emerge from true data. Any use of those numbers would then be based upon lies, and highly suspect. The two-digit 10, also illustrated, might be excluded from any analysis of digit-frequency, or (prominantly featuring a trailing zero) might further underline the point by being being more likely rounded to the nearest ten (or even a convenient [[2205: Types of Approximation\|order of magnitude]]), where its [[2696: Precision vs Accuracy\|accuracy and precision]] are both more open to doubt than in the case of either 9 or (also neighbouring it, though not shown here or necessarily subject to any comment) 11.

	The title text is a literalism joke; at the time the comic was published, all Wikipedia articles with incomplete lists began with the message template "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it." In the case of the {{w\|List of numbers}} page, one could infer the absurd notion that Wikipedia wanted to have the list include every number from negative infinity to infinity. But because all Wikipedia articles are necessarily finite, such a list would always be incomplete, no matter how much it was expanded. It may also be referencing his previous statements about Wikipedia being the home of compulsive list-makers, who make the most astonishingly complete lists imaginable.		The title text is a literalism joke; at the time the comic was published, all Wikipedia articles with incomplete lists began with the message template "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it." In the case of the {{w\|List of numbers}} page, one could infer the absurd notion that Wikipedia wanted to have the list include every number from negative infinity to infinity. But because all Wikipedia articles are necessarily finite, such a list would always be incomplete, no matter how much it was expanded. It may also be referencing his previous statements about Wikipedia being the home of compulsive list-makers, who make the most astonishingly complete lists imaginable.

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:59, 12 July 2024
Line 43:		Line 43:

	As of 2022, Wikipedia's {{w\|List of numbers}} page, as well as all pages including lists that cannot ever reach a state of completion, are headed by the message template "This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources."		As of 2022, Wikipedia's {{w\|List of numbers}} page, as well as all pages including lists that cannot ever reach a state of completion, are headed by the message template "This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources."
		+
		+	[[2956: Number Line Branch]] also features a number line with additional (fictional) numbers.

	== Transcript ==		== Transcript ==