Editing 1317: Theft

{{comic
| number    = 1317
| date      = January 15, 2014
| title     = Theft
| image     = theft.png
| titletext = Is he ALSO wondering at what point our thoughts diverged, if they even have yet? 'dude, I think he just took your credit card' AM I THE ORIGINAL? HOW DO I TELL?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}
The term "identity theft" usually refers to the theft of any type of identification used by the thief to pretend to be the victim. Randall's identity thief, however, (somehow) literally stole his personality. The thief has apparently inherited Randall's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/786:_Exoplanets love of space], and his existentialism. (Megan's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/625:_Collections existentialism] must have rubbed off on him.) The joke is that the identity theft is completely overwhelmed by having an entirely new personality. The title text wonders when the trains of thought of the two people (assuming that Randall's identity thief merely copied his personality, rather taking it) have or will diverge, until which point they are basically the same person.  Another person then mentions that this is actually Randall overthinking the situation, and that the thief really did only take his credit card number, a common method for stealing money, but by this point Randall's anxiety has overwhelmed him and he ignores the speaker.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-The term "identity theft" refers to a thief acquiring various types of a victim's identification (for example, bank account number and/or Social Security number), thus allowing the thief to pretend to be the victim and commonly steal money from the victim's bank account, etc.
+{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}
+The term "identity theft" usually refers to the theft of any type of identification used by the thief to pretend to be the victim. Randall's identity thief, however, (somehow) literally stole his personality. The thief has apparently inherited Randall's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/786:_Exoplanets love of space], and his existentialism. (Megan's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/625:_Collections existentialism] must have rubbed off on him.) The joke is that the identity theft is completely overwhelmed by having an entirely new personality. The title text wonders when the trains of thought of the two people (assuming that Randall's identity thief merely copied his personality, rather taking it) have or will diverge, until which point they are basically the same person.  Another person then mentions that this is actually Randall overthinking the situation, and that the thief really did only take his credit card number, a common method for stealing money, but by this point Randall's anxiety has overwhelmed him and he ignores the speaker.
-This comic exaggerates the term, interpreting it as the thief literally acquiring the victim's whole personality. Like [[Cueball]] & [[Megan]] in general, the victim is implied to have some [[Randall]]ian personality traits, like the [[786: Exoplanets|love of space]] and existential angst. Thus, the thief is now completely overwhelmed by having an entirely new personality, not to mention one whose parts clash with each other.
-The title text ponders the specifics of the identity acquisition process. Presumably, even two people whose personalities are identical would still start to think different thoughts. (This is a prerequisite for the depiction in the comic; the thief is baffled by his newly acquired interests, while the victim would not be baffled by the thoughts and interests they've developed over their entire life.) It is also wondered whether the victims new {{w|doppelganger}} is wondering the same thing, which could imply that their thoughts have not fully diverged. A friend comments that the victim may be overthinking the situation, and that the thief only took his credit card information. That is a common method of identity theft, but one which does not transfer personality traits.{{Citation needed}} However, the victim is overwhelmed by existential anxiety.
 ==Transcript==
-:[An identity thief sits in front of a laptop, looking at his hands]
+{{incomplete transcript}}
-:Thief: I feel paralyzed by overwhelming existential dread.
-:Thief: ...and yet for some reason I'm ''really'' excited about space?
-:[Caption below the panel:]
-:The thief who stole my identity has a lot to deal with.
 {{comic discussion}}
-[[Category:Philosophy]]
-[[Category:Identity Theft]]