1488: Flowcharts
| Flowcharts |
 Title text: Whoa, and if you overlay a Fibonacci spiral on a golden spiral it matches up almost perfectly! |
Explanation
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This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Improve the explanation, specifically on the point of the scatterplot, and finish the table please. Update for the re-spin If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks. |
This comic is a flowchart style. Interestingly, the first option, "Do you like flowcharts?" loops back to itself until you choose NO. This is probably because the reader will keep choosing "yes" until they are annoyed and do not like flowcharts anymore.
After asking about flowcharts, the reader is asked whether they like line graphs. If they follow one line, it becomes a line graph where "Time" is the x-axis and "Your Happiness" is the y-axis, and shows that your happiness increases with time. If you don't like line graphs, you are asked the same question about scatter graphs. If they follow the other line, they are asked "Charge a battery?" If the follow the line marked yes they are asked whether they are A/C or D/C and are led to a portion of the flowchart which resembles a circuit diagram of a Template:w:rectifier bridge with a battery connected to it.
If the reader follows the "no" line, they are asked if they like spirals. If they choose "no" they are told to take the path of least resistance. This part of the flowchart resembles a circuit diagram, and the word "resistance" is a pun because resistance in electricity is an electrical quantity that measures how the device or material reduces the electric current flow through it. Presumably going left is the "No" option here as well, which goes through extra resistors, therefore making the "Yes" option the "path of least resistance". Whether they choose "Yes" or "No", they arrive at "Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images?" If they choose "yes" the line fades into a drawing of a golden spiral, and we see that the flowchart is structured around it. If they choose "no" they are asked if they are tired of flowcharts. If not, they are taken to the beginning to start over again. If they are tired, the line points to the "random" button on the xkcd website.
The title text and the faint image of a golden spiral parody the fact that the golden spiral is superimposed on nearly everything. The golden spiral is a spiral that has the growth rate of the golden ratio, a number that has inspired both artists and mathematicians alike. However, people try to find the golden ratio in seemingly random objects, and they fall to confirmation bias when drawing a golden spiral on top that seemingly fits. The comic links to [1], where one can see exactly that- golden spirals Randall "found" in random photographs. The title text is funny because the mathematics of the famous Fibonacci sequence. The limit of consecutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence is equal to the golden ratio. So it matches up almost perfectly for a good reason, unlike the co-incidental matchings of the pictures in the mobile site link.
A second version of the comic was uploaded later in the day (rare as Randall has said he "doesn't do respins"). It appears a unfinished version of the comic was uploaded, with several of the lines and labels missing, and the bridge circuit incorrectly drawn.
List of Items in Flowchart
| Text | Explanation | Successor(s) | Predeccessor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Start here | Do you like flowcharts? | Tired of flowcharts yet? |
| Do you like flowcharts? | Asking whether or not the reader likes flow charts. Recursively returns to itself until the reader is annoyed enough to not like flowcharts and may establish the convention of "Yes" being down and "No" being sideways, unless otherwise indicated. | Do you like flowcharts?, Do you like graphs? | Start |
| Data or Axis? | This item is duplicated. It is asking which type of graph you prefer | Data, line, access | Do you like graphs? |
| Line | This forms a line on top of the axis of time and happiness. It is positive slope. | Data or Axis? | |
| Axis | Leads to A choice | Time or your happiness?, X or Y? | Data or axis? |
| Time or your happiness? | Choose between your time and your happiness. Presumably, choose whichever you value more. | Time, Happiness | Data or axis? |
| Time | You value your time more than your happiness. This forms the horizontal axis for the line graph. | Time or your happiness? | |
| Your happiness | You value your happiness more than your time. This forms the vertical axis for the line graph. | Time or your happiness? | |
| Scatter plots? | If you don't like line graphs, do you yet like scatter plots. | X or Y?,Charge a battery | Do you like Line Graphs |
| X or Y? | Which axis do you prefer? | X, Y | Axis |
| X | Forms the horizontal axis for the scatterplot. | X or Y? | |
| Y | Forms the vertical axis for the scatterplot. | X or Y? | |
| Data | Leads to a scatterplot. May be a series of AC current symbols leading into one another | Data or Axis? | |
| Help charge a battery? | Now the flowchart is going to morph into a circuit diagram. | Are you A/C or D/C?, Like Spirals? | Scatter Plots? |
| Are you A/C or D/C?, | Asks whether you have knowledge in AC current or DC current. | Positive or Negative Phase?, Positive or negative DC terminal? | Help charging a battery? |
| Positive or Negative Phase? | Conventional current will flow forwards during the positive phase of AC current, whereas in the negative phase the forwards directions matches the actual flow of electrons qv.567. | Positive or negative DC terminal? | Are you A/C or D/C? |
| Positive or negative DC terminal? | This box looks like a Rectifier bridge, which is used to convert AC to DC. The single output leads to a battery which is joined in a circuit to the bottom of the rectifer bridge. | Battery | Positive or negative phase? |
| Like Spirals? | Well, do you? | Take the path of least resistance?, Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images? | Help charge a battery? |
| Take the path of least resistance? | This one is a pun. If resistance is seen as electrical resistance, then the bottom output is correct. Alternatively, the (unlabelled) "No" exit technically sends you through more resistance, and a 'protective' diode, to the next decision box. | Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images? | Like Spirals? |
| Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images? | Yes, even though it's total BS., Tired of flowcharts yet? | Like spirals?, Take the path of least resistance? | |
| Yes, even though it's total BS. | This option fades out to a golden spiral to which the flowchart is aligned. | Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images? | |
| Tired of flowcharts yet? | Are you? | Yes, I want to look at something else, Start | Do you like when people find the golden spiral in random images? |
| Yes, I want to look at something else | This option leads to the random comic button. This decision literally breaks the fourth wall in travelling through the image's nominal boundary to point at a specific button to look at some other comic. | Tired of Flowcharts yet? | Random |
Transcript
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This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks. |
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refresh comments!Discussion
A little bit more of 730? 141.101.80.108 06:53, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
- More along the lines of 94, 210, 518, 627, 844, 845, and 1195, though I see similarities with 730. Mikemk (talk) 07:09, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
How should we do the transcript? Mikemk (talk) 07:09, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
You could do the transcript as a number list formatted like: "[Title of item] IF YES(GOTO X), IF NO(GOTO Y)" (where "X" and "Y" are the numbers on the list for the corresponding next option). Derek 108.162.216.107 13:25, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
I would just like to say that I find some of the linked spiral-images very disturbing. Although for some they'd be the same even without the spirals, admitedly. 141.101.98.188 09:47, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
I believe this will end up being one of the most challenging explanations yet (of those that are completely explicable) - got quite a task up ahead... -- Brettpeirce (talk) 10:35, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
Normally (for a flowchart) the Start symbol should not have an input. The electrical circuit is not a rectifier! Sebastian --108.162.254.103 10:59, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
- In the newly corrected version, it is. Knob creek (talk) 16:58, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
- But it doesn't need to be, since the rectification is done by the flow chart. Two of the diodes will never be used. (Is it still a rectifier if it's not rectifying?) 108.162.249.182 21:49, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
- Yes it's still a rectifier. It just appears to be out of a job, that's all. Anyone else notice that the bridge rectifier IS a flowchart? The two decision trees feeding it are completely unnecessary. Getting rid of them gives the rectifier back it's job! Also, to give Randall a break, the original diagram of the bridge is actually a ring modulator. It's been decades since I've been in RF so I had to track it down and confirm.ExternalMonolog (talk) 23:24, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
- But it doesn't need to be, since the rectification is done by the flow chart. Two of the diodes will never be used. (Is it still a rectifier if it's not rectifying?) 108.162.249.182 21:49, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
OCD comment: There appear to be two lines missing, 1) from scatter plots to data or axis, 2) from the bottom of positive or negative DC terminal to the negative terminal of the battery. Also, I would be happier if the two left hand diodes of the full wave rectifier were reversed. 173.245.52.95 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
- Scatter plots don't have lines, that's the joke. 199.27.133.71 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
- It wasn't a joke; in the corrected version the lines are there. I suspect Randall uploaded a work-in-progress version of the comic by mistake. 141.101.98.245 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Either I was really tired this morning, or the spiral was not actually present in the first version of this comic.108.162.254.98 13:00, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
It seems like the options for the "Do you like flowcharts?" box should be reversed (only putting someone through the flowchart if they say they like flowcharts). I think it makes less sense to have the first option "annoy" someone with a flowchart option until they say they don't like flowcharts, then put them through a flowchart. Derek 108.162.216.107 13:31, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
I see no evidence that the "time or your happiness" box is asking you to "choose whichever you value more". The graph shows your happiness as a function of time, not "your time" (it's not as if you were asked to choose between, say, more happiness or more spare time for yourself). I think it is just asking you to choose which axis of the graph you want to follow. The flowchart for the line graph and the scatter plot are similar; since "X or Y" is not interpreted as a question about value, why should "time or your happiness" be?
Zetfr 14:00, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
The comment on the Fibonacci and Golden Spirals being the same is not correct. According to Wikipedia[1][2]: "A Fibonacci spiral approximates the golden spiral using quarter-circle arcs inscribed in squares of integer Fibonacci-number side." - Prometheusmmiv (talk) 14:55, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
- The title text says "if you overlay a Fibonacci spiral on a golden spiral it matches up almost perfectly." -- Grabadora304 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Randall has uploaded a new version, it fixes some missing lines: The scatter graph is now connected, as is the DC terminal, and the battery is now in a circuit. Some of the explaination above needs updating 141.101.99.47 15:32, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
Clicking on the image takes you to http://xkcd.com/spiral/ 108.162.216.149 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
- Good catch about http://xkcd.com/spiral/ ! --Guest (talk) 17:46, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
NOTE this comic has been changed, oddly. http://xkcd.com/1488/ Halfhat (talk) 18:21, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
How do we change this wiki to have the updated image? The XKCD site is updated, but this page still shows the old image. Djbrasier (talk) 18:59, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
- I have uploaded the correct version now. Kynde (talk) 19:30, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
- The image is still out of date as it lacks the Yes / Never! markings on the Path of Least Resistance decision box. 173.245.54.174 21:00, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
Is it a coincidence that a Fibonacci sequence has a link to the golden ratio? I think not: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTWKKvlZB08 sirKitKat (talk) 21:08, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
Wow - I tried the random button once and got to this comic: 1359: Phone Alarm. For a second I thought he had rigged it - but that is was not the case. But that was not getting to something else ;-) Kynde (talk) 21:19, 18 February 2015 (UTC)
- I got 518 and started laughing all over again. He really should rig the random button on this page to point to only flowchart comics. He has enough of them: 94, 210, 518, 844, 851, 854, 1066, 1195, 1359. 108.162.216.98 15:20, 19 February 2015 (UTC)
- I only got 1100: Vows. The comic was posted yesterday, though. Is it possible that he rigged it, but only for yesterday? gijobarts (talk) 21:36, 19 February 2015 (UTC)
There is a new corrected version. The current one has a "Line or Axis" diamond in the topmost line, instead of "Data or Axis". 141.101.102.217 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Why Randall use form “are you A/C or D/C”, not “It [battery] is” or maybe “are you on A/C or D/C”? This refer to the typical (not-so-intellectual) quiz/flowcharts propagated in the Internet? 141.101.105.195 10:57, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
- I took it as a reference to "Are you a Mac or a PC?" (not sure if this is a thing...). 188.114.99.189 04:07, 9 December 2015 (UTC)
I think the "yes" path of "Do you like flowcharts?" is a recursive reference to the flowchart itself (just like other "Do you like ~"? nodes which refer to the respective graphs when the reader follows the "yes" path), not (just) for annoying the readers following it. --Luke1337 (talk) 01:55, 2 July 2016 (UTC)
