Editing 1215: Insight

{{comic
| number    = 1215
| date      = May 22, 2013
| title     = Insight
| image     = insight.png
| titletext = The great thing is, the sentence is really just a reminder to the listener to worry about whatever aspects of the technology they&#39;re already feeling alarmist about, which in their mind gives you credit for addressing their biggest anxieties.
}}

==Explanation==
[[White Hat]] is giving a profound insight into <Google Glass>. This insight, however, can be given, sounding just as profound, for any other new technology that comes around—hence the angled brackets around ''Google Glass'', indicating that "Google Glass" is a placeholder. This, of course, means it is not profound at all, as it has no actual insight into {{w|Google Glass}} (or any other technology).

The title text highlights a common trait of human listeners. The above sentence is constructed in such a way as to trigger the listener's reservations about the new technology. The sentence sounds profound, not because it has any actual insights, but because it causes the listener to fill in the missing insights with his own pre-existing thoughts on the matter. This is a typical effect of {{w|Confirmation bias}}. Not only does this cause [[Cueball]] to regard White Hat as insightful, but it also causes Cueball to think that White Hat agrees with whatever it is that Cueball fears <Google Glass> for.

It seems no coincidence that [[Randall]] chose ''Google Glass'' as the placeholder. It seems generally that he is no fan of these, which was shown soon after in [[1251: Anti-Glass]] and later again in [[1304: Glass Trolling]]. This was the first time Google Glass was directly mentioned but since this comic Google Glass has become a [[:Category:Google Glass|recurring theme]] in xkcd.

The caption is reminiscent of Randall's [[:Category:Tips|tips]], but since the word tip is left out, it is not itself a tip comic.

*[[174: That's What SHE Said]]
*[[1656: It Begins]]
*[[559: No Pun Intended]]
*[[178: Not Really Into Pokemon]]
*[[1022: So It Has Come To This]]
*[[1627: Woosh]]

==Transcript==
:White Hat: Maybe before we rush to adopt <Google Glass> we should stop to consider the consequences of blithely giving this technology such a central position in our lives.
:Don't have any insights about a new technology? Just use this sentence! It makes you sound wise and you can say it about virtually anything.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Google Glass]]
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[White Hat is holding a finger up while talking to Cueball.]
+:White Hat: Maybe before we rush to adopt <Google Glass> we should stop to consider the consequences of blithely giving this technology such a central position in our lives.
-:White Hat:
+:Don't have any insights about a new technology? Just use this sentence! It makes you sound wise and you can say it about virtually anything.
-::Maybe before we rush to adopt
-::::<'''Google Glass'''>
-::we should stop to consider the consequences of blithely giving this technology such a central position in our lives.
-:[Caption below the panel:]
-:Don't have any insights about a new technology? Just use this sentence!
-:It makes you sound wise and you can say it about virtually anything.
 {{comic discussion}}