Editing 1103: Nine

{{comic
| number    = 1103
| date      = September 03, 2012
| title     = Nine
| image     = nine.png
| titletext = FYI: If you get curious and start trying to calculate the time adjustment function that minimizes the gap between the most-used and least-used digit (for a representative sample of common cook times) without altering any time by more than 10%, and someone asks you what you are doing, it is easier to just lie.
}}

==Explanation==
Most common cook times are given in either whole, half, or quarter minute increments; e.g., 2:00 min. or 1:30 min, meaning that 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 0 are the most used digits on the microwave (because microwave times are usually less than 6 minutes), and to use numbers like 6, 7, 8, or 9, one would have to cook something for that number of minutes. Cueball, however, feels bad for the under-used number '9,' so he microwaves his food for one minute fifty-nine seconds instead of two minutes, as a one-second difference is negligible.

Also, in [[Randall|Randall's]] book [[Thing Explainer|Thing Explainer,]] every number from one to ten are in the top thousand most used words except nine, which is labeled 'the number after eight', 'one more than eight', or (when referring to the Ninth Amendment) 'Change After Eight'. This evidences how the other numbers are used much more than nine.

The title text is reminiscent of comic [[245: Floor Tiles]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands at a microwave, which hangs on the wall above the stove.]
:Cueball: How long do you zap these?
:Character off-frame: Two minutes.
:Cueball: Thanks!
:[Buttons being pushed.]
:<small>*Beep*</small> 1
:<small>*Beep*</small> 5
:<small>*Beep*</small> 9
:Cueball:''<small> It's ok, nine.</small>'' 
:Cueball:''<small> You are not forgotten.</small>''

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Ever since I heard the simile "As neglected as the nine button on the microwave." I've found myself adjusting cook times.

== Trivia ==
The disproportionately high frequency of low digits appearing in a random number is a similar concept to {{w|Benford's Law}}, which states that the lower a non-zero digit is, the more likely it will appear as the first (non-zero) digit of a random number; eg, you are far more likely to encounter a number beginning with the digit 1 than a number whose first digit is 9. However, in the case of microwaves, the reason low digits are usually at the beginning of the number is more due to the relatively short times used on microwaves, whereas Benford's Law has to do with logarithmic scale. And in the case of microwaves, 3s and 0s have an increased likelihood of appearing in later digits because times are usually given in units of minutes or half-minutes, and while it is possible to extend Benford's Law to a few digits beyond the first digit, there is certainly no preference for 3 over other digits.

Taken together, one could probably infer that the amount of time something is cooked in an oven, which is usually longer than things are cooked in a microwave, is more likely to include early digits such as 0, 1, 2, and 3 as opposed to digits such as 7, 8, and 9.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]