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Make changes, try things out, or just have fun with the wiki here! Just leave everything above the line alone, please.
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<center>
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Sandbox&action=edit&oldid=91667 clear sandbox]
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<font size=5px>''Welcome to the '''explain [[xkcd]]''' wiki!''</font><br>
------
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<span style="font size:210%;">We have an explanation for all [[List of all comics (full)|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:All comics|R}}}}''' xkcd comics]], and only {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} ({{#expr: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} / {{LATESTCOMIC}} * 100 round 1}}%) are incomplete. [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|Help us finish them!]]</span><!-- Note: the -1 in the calculation above has been removed (it was there to discount "comic" 404, but we've categorized it to be a comic and so has Randall.) -->
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<!-- Go to this explanation button --><span style="position: absolute; right:0; padding-top:1.4em; font-size: 100%;"><span class="no-link-underline">[[{{LATESTCOMIC}}|&nbsp;</span>'''Go to this explanation''']]</span>
  
{{comic
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=Latest comic=
| number    = 0
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<div style="border:1px solid grey; background:#f6f6f6; padding:1.5em;">
| date      = May 4, 2015
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{{:{{LATESTCOMIC}}}}
| title    = Degree-Off
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----
| image    = degree off.png
 
| titletext = I'M SORRY, FROM YOUR YEARS OF CONDESCENDING TOWARD THE 'SQUISHY SCIENCES', I ASSUMED YOU'D BE A LITTLE HARDER.
 
}}
 
  
==Explanation==
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<span style="position: absolute; left:0; padding-top:1.35em; font-size: 105%;"><span class="no-link-underline">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[File:new topic.png|21x21px|link={{LATESTCOMIC}}#Discussion]][[{{LATESTCOMIC}}#Discussion|&nbsp; </span>'''View comic discussion''']]</span><br><br></div>
{{Incomplete|Unfinished. More detailed introduction and explain title text.}}
 
  
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== New here? ==
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<div style="float:right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em">{{Special:ContributionScores/10/30/nosort,notools}}<div style="font-size:0.85em; width:28em; font-style:italic">[[Special:ContributionScores|Lots of people]] contribute to make this wiki a success. Many of the recent contributors above have [{{fullurl:Special:Contributions|contribs=newbie}} just joined]. You can do it too! Create your account [[Special:UserLogin/signup|here]].</div></div>
  
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You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at [[explain xkcd]]. Feel free to [[Special:UserLogin/signup|create an account]] and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|comics]], [[:Category:Characters|characters]], [[What If? chapters|''What If?'' articles]], and [[:Category:xkcd|everything in between]]. If it is referenced in an [[xkcd]] comic, it should be here.
  
[[Cueball]], [[Hair Bun Girl]], and [[Megan]] appear to be on a talk show called Degree-Off, hosted by [[Hairy]], where representatives of different fields, in this case, physics, biology, and chemistry, explain why their fields are best and why to get a degree in the field. The title "Degree-Off" is a portmanteau of "{{w|Academic degree|degree}}", as in the recognized completion of studies at a school or university,  and "{{w|face-off}}", a direct confrontation between two people or groups.
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* If you're new to wiki editing, see the [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ]] for a specific guidance to this wiki and the more general help on [[mw:Help:Editing pages|how to edit wiki pages]]. There's also a handy {{w|Help:Cheatsheet|wikicode cheatsheet}}.
  
The host asks Cueball to go first. He lightheartedly tells a story about {{w|Richard Feynman}}, finishing with a quote. The quote "all science is either physics or stamp collecting." was said by {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, not Richard Feynman, implying either [[Cueball]] misattributes the quote, or that his story is quite long. During the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, Richard Feymann got bored because of the isolation and started learning lock picking on the secret documents safes. Using these new skills, he played lots of pranks on his colleagues, like leaving notes and spooking them into believing there was a spy among them (which, of course, {{w|Klaus_Fuchs|there was}}). The reference to stamp collecting is the abstract idea that all other sciences are aggregates of physics and what they study are simply interesting instances of complex behavior derived from basic physics.
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* Discussion about the wiki itself happens at the [[explain xkcd:Community portal|Community portal]].
  
Hair Bun Girl, the representative for biology goes next, showing that through their efforts, biology has helped reduce disease ("slaying" {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}}). She accuses physics of creating a new weapon of destruction from gathering in the desert (likely referring to the {{w| Manhattan Project}}, conducted in the {{w|New Mexico desert}}), insisting that biologists are the true heroes. Physics is taken aback, having believed it would be a fun activity, which Biology refutes, saying he must have been thinking of Stamp Collecting, which was mentioned in the earlier quote. Megan, the representative for chemistry, does not speak during the comic.
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* You can browse the comics from the [[List of all comics (full)|list of all comics]] or by navigating the category tree at [[:Category:Comics]].
  
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
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* The incomplete explanations are listed [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|here]]. Feel free to help out by expanding them!
This graph shows the death rate from infectious disease in USA, similar to that shown in the comic presented by Hair Bun Girl, as both have the range of 1900-2000. It probably served as inspiration to Randall.
 
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">[[File:Crude_Infectious_Disease_Mortality_Rate_in_the_United_States_from_1900_Through_1996.gif]]</div>
 
</div>
 
  
Continuing on the Four Horsemen theme, the title text in {{w|all caps}} refers to the mode of speech of {{w|Terry Pratchett}}'s character {{w|Death_(Discworld)|Death}}. He mocks physics and physicists for not being harder. Referring to the fact that physicists sometimes see their science as being the most {{w|hard science}} of sciences and demean other sciences for being soft sciences (as in [[435: Purity]]) or "squishy". By calling the physicist squishy, Death might be referring to the fragility of the human body which led to his death, or the state of that body once death has had time to set in. According to [[435: Purity]], the only subject harder or purer than physics is mathematics.
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== Rules ==
  
The whole comic might be a subtle hint by Randall on his stance against the [http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anti-vaccination_movement anti-vaccination movement], the physicist Cueball being the anti-vaxxer, the biologist Hair Bun Girl showing the success of vaccinations, making Cueball speechless.
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Don't be a jerk!
  
==Transcript==
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There are a lot of comics that don't have set-in-stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic.
:[Hairy is acting as the host of a TV talk show, ''Degree-Off''. Cueball, Hair Bun Girl, and Megan are acting as representatives of Phys (Physics), Bio (Biology), and Chem (Chemistry) respectively. They each stand behind their own {{w|Lectern}} with the respective subject label.]
 
  
:Hairy: Welcome to the ''Degree-Off'', where we determine which field is the best! Physics, wanna go first?
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If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page.
:Cueball: Sure! I'd like to tell the story of Richard Feynman's Manhattan project lockpicking pranks...
 
  
:Cueball: ...and as he said, "all science is either physics or stamp collecting."
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Please only submit material directly related to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that can legally be posted and freely edited. Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked.
:Cueball: Thank you.
 
:Hairy: ''Great!'' Bio, you wanna go next?
 
:Hair Bun Girl: Okay.
 
  
:[A graph labeled "Per 100,000 is shown above Hair Bun Girl]
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If you need assistance from an [[explain xkcd:Administrators|admin]], post a message to the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] board.
:Hair Bun Girl: This is a graph of the death rate from infectious disease in this country.
 
  
:[Hair Bun Girl raising her left hand]
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[[Category:Root category]]
:Hair Bun Girl: The heroes of my field have ''slain'' one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
 
  
:[Hair Bun Girl pointing at Cueball]
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Recent comments: {{Special:RecentChanges|namespace=1}}
:Hair Bun Girl: While the heroes of ''your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one.
 
 
 
:Cueball: ...Jeez, what the hell? I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!
 
:Hair Bun Girl: ''You must have been thinking of stamp collecting.''
 
 
 
==See also==
 
*Different scientific fields, including physics, biology, and chemistry are compared in terms of purity in  [[435: Purity]].
 
*Most fields are criticized in [[1052: Every Major's Terrible]].
 
 
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
<!-- Include any categories below this line. -->
 
 
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
 
[[Category:Science]]
 
[[Category:Charts]]
 
[[Category:Physics]]
 
[[Category:Biology]]
 
[[Category:Chemistry]]
 
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
 

Latest revision as of 06:19, 3 January 2026

Welcome to the explain xkcd wiki!
We have an explanation for all 3210 xkcd comics, and only 62 (1.9%) are incomplete. Help us finish them!

 Go to this explanation

Latest comic[edit]

Proof Without Content
There's also a proof without content of a conjecture without content, but it's left as an exercise for the reader.
Title text: There's also a proof without content of a conjecture without content, but it's left as an exercise for the reader.

Explanation[edit]

Ambox warning blue construction.png This is incomplete:
This page was created as an exercise for the reader. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

This comic refers to a proofs without words, which rely on images or other geometric tools to visually demonstrate a concept without further explanation. The comic gives an example of a proof without any content at all, which proves its own existence.

This proof requires the conjecture to be stated, which could be construed as content.

This can also be a parody on scientists doing empty papers sometimes as an inside joke, such as a comprehensive overview of chemical-free consumer products – the point with that paper being that the lay meaning behind "chemical-free" can be considered technically nonsensical given that anything physical contains chemical elements, so no products can be free of them. (And, even in the various more vague senses that may be intended, it isn't necessarily as good a selling point as it may try to suggest.)

The title text refers to another proof without content, that a conjecture without content could exist. This would imply a conjecture-proof pair with no content whatsoever. This could only be discussed indirectly, which is why it is mentioned and left as an exercise for the reader. Alternatively, the exercise could be forming the conjecture and proof itself if the comic is interpreted as a blank sheet of paper.

Transcript[edit]

Ambox warning green construction.png This is one of 41 incomplete transcripts:
Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!


[Within a panel, two boxes stacked vertically. Each one has a label above it.]
Conjecture:
[Within the box]
It's possible to construct a convincing proof without words, pictures, or content of any kind.
[The next label]
Proof:
[The box underneath this label is empty.]
[Caption under the panel]
Proofs without words are cool, but we can go further.

comment.png  Add comment      new topic.png  Create topic (use sparingly)     refresh discuss.png  Refresh 

Discussion

Make changes, try things out, or just have fun with the wiki here! Just leave everything above the line alone, please.


This is a test. PoolloverNathan[stalk the blue seas] 20:48, 16 March 2021 (UTC)

This is not. —While False (museum | talk | contributions | logs | rights | printable version | page information | what links there | related changes | Google search | current time: 13:26) 18:38, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
A foreign student asked me to help fight against his math teacher. That was unusual. He was in that class for just a couple of weeks. The teacher's phone number was sent to me. The student asked me to spam-call the teacher. 172.71.155.55 22:58, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

here i'm just messing around in html, ignore this

furhhfghure guyrburgryhuyvfr "rvhru"

interesting way of writing quotations xd

hmmm this one of putting "<p>" in a line break will come in handy for when i want it to start at the same place than the first line

Please beware that <p> on mediawiki also disables automatic paragraph breaks, so you need a closing </p> or you'll break automatic paragraph formatting for the rest of the page. Zmatt (talk) 22:06, 31 July 2024 (UTC)

edit: da hek did that "</div>" come from An user who has no account yet (talk) 14:14, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

hi uh its hard to get here. is this a reference to undocumented feature??? hmm... this is interesting.
108.162.241.216 02:05, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
Tomato soup.jpg Soup
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Tomato soup.jpg Soup
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yum yum [citation needed]

Hiuiedeixgeyceiyedhcdiedcve {{trout}}

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Lots of people contribute to make this wiki a success. Many of the recent contributors above have just joined. You can do it too! Create your account here.

You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at explain xkcd. Feel free to create an account and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd comics, characters, What If? articles, and everything in between. If it is referenced in an xkcd comic, it should be here.

  • The incomplete explanations are listed here. Feel free to help out by expanding them!

Rules[edit]

Don't be a jerk!

There are a lot of comics that don't have set-in-stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic.

If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page.

Please only submit material directly related to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that can legally be posted and freely edited. Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked.

If you need assistance from an admin, post a message to the Admin requests board.

Recent comments:

1 February 2026

     05:49  Talk:3198: Double-Pronged Extension Cord‎ (diff | hist) . . (+397). . 76.180.39.133 (talk)

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Talk:3200: Chemical Formula‎‎ (2 changes | history) . . (+619). . [These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For‎; 76.180.39.133‎]

     

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     03:35  Talk:953: 1 to 10‎ (diff | hist) . . (+149). . 76.176.69.232 (talk)
     03:27  Talk:1134: Logic Boat‎ (diff | hist) . . (+112). . 180.181.250.224 (talk)

31 January 2026

     23:58 

Talk:3198: Double-Pronged Extension Cord‎‎ (4 changes | history) . . (+2,664). . [MikeTheNewGuy‎; 81.179.199.253‎; Elizium23‎ (2×)]

     

23:58

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Talk:3201: Proof Without Content‎‎ (6 changes | history) . . (+1,414). . [EebstertheGreat‎; Hcs‎; 81.179.199.253‎; 136.47.216.1‎; Logalex8369‎ (2×)]

     

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30 January 2026

N    23:26 

Talk:3201: Proof Without Content‎‎ (14 changes | history) . . (+3,363). . [TheusafBOT‎; 81.179.199.253‎; 73.222.207.213‎; 2600:4041:2e5:b900:6c41:5afb:89d1:f216‎; 2600:1700:2120:5880:c885:5daf:efd8:eadf‎; 104.28.199.245‎; R128‎ (2×); Barmar‎ (2×); 2001:16b8:b583:2500:4d66:4f4e:17e2:34f1‎ (2×); 199.36.252.124‎ (2×)]

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+1,432). . 104.28.199.245 (talk) (explained the joke in terms of maths books and students frustration)

     

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     16:25 

Talk:3200: Chemical Formula‎‎ (13 changes | history) . . (+3,905). . [1234231587678‎; 87.75.45.69‎; 82.132.236.133‎; 2001:638:807:507:10d4:7a7b:db7c:21ff‎; 195.65.24.115‎; User 8496351‎ (2×); Kynde‎ (2×); Dextrous Fred‎ (2×); 82.13.184.33‎ (2×)]

     

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29 January 2026

     18:58 

Talk:3200: Chemical Formula‎‎ (2 changes | history) . . (+1,093). . [82.13.184.33‎; 81.179.199.253‎]

     

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     15:42  Talk:2074: Airplanes and Spaceships‎ (diff | hist) . . (+358). . 82.71.120.214 (talk) (Mention of Patrick Moore, who has a connection to the topic of the comment.)