Editing 2193: Well-Ordering Principle
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | {{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor | + | {{w|Marty McFly}}, played by actor Michael J. Fox, is the main character of the film series ''{{w|Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future}}''. As it is a popular film and series, many people may dress up as Marty McFly or Doc Brown, the other main character of the series, on {{w|Halloween}}, a holiday on October 31 where it is traditional to dress up in {{w|Halloween costume|different costumes}}. |
− | In the | + | In the comic, Megan has found a genie lamp. A genie in a lamp is a supernatural being in many stories known to give one or more wishes to its finder. Instead of wishing for multiple wishes, flight, money, or other "traditional" wishes, Megan instead wishes to see the picture of the worst costume of Marty McFly on Halloween. Marty McFly's outfit in the films is relatively simple, consisting of little more than an orange vest, jean jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It would seem difficult to get this wrong. |
− | + | In the final panel, the genie questions why she would wish for something so mundane, when he has the power to grant wishes beyond her wildest dreams. Megan, being savvy of tropes used in fiction since biblical times, points out that encounters with wish-granting entities often turn out to be traps; genies in fiction will often interpret wishes in ways the wisher did not intend, and particularly mean-spirited ones will {{tvtropes|JackassGenie|twist a mortal's desire into their own personal hell}}. So Megan tries to play it safe by wishing for something innocuous and with little room for harmful side-effects. | |
− | + | The {{w|well-ordering principle}} is a mathematical fact stating that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. This principle would apply to Megan's request if there was guaranteed to be an "absolute worst" costume of Marty McFly. However, subjective {{w|preference}}, while [[wikipedia:Reflexive relation|reflexive]] and [[wikipedia:Transitive relation|transitive]], is not [[wikipedia:Well-founded relation|well-founded]] (or [[wikipedia:Symmetric relation|symmetric]], [[wikipedia:Antisymmetric relation|antisymmetric]], or [[wikipedia:Connex relation|connex]], for that matter) and is therefore considered to be a {{w|preorder}}, also called a quasiorder. This means that the genie may not be able to fulfill Megan's wish if the selection were based on the preferences of any one person. For example, the genie may have no opinion on the quality of any McFly costume, or might judge them on criteria completely different from Megan's. While Megan isn't explicitly wishing for a widely-shared opinion, the title text contemplates a "nationwide" search. People's preferences can be combined into a {{w|mean opinion score}} which, while not strictly well-ordered, is usually able to identify a single worst costume, or at least identify a set of costumes tied for worst according to aggregate subjective preferences. There are [https://www.docdroid.net/bcKvZmM/preference-aggregation.pdf many other ways to combine preferences] (e.g. voting) but none of them meet all of the criteria considered desirable, as demonstrated by {{w|Arrow's impossibility theorem}}. | |
− | The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is | + | The title text may explain why Megan is interested in this wish: any means available to her would be restricted to a geographic area's (nationwide) photographs or drawings from memory. It is likely the worst costume was either never photographed, or isn't remembered accurately by those who saw it (it is lost to time). By asking the genie to show her, she would be able to see the truly worst costume, without being restricted to those for which evidence remains. |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and | + | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
+ | :[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp. The genie resembles the top half of Cueball's body, with a head, torso, and arms, but with a squiggle representing a puff of smoke in place of his legs.] | ||
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish. | :Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish. | ||
:Megan: Hmm. | :Megan: Hmm. | ||
:[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.] | :[Megan holding the lamp to her side. The genie is off-panel.] | ||
− | :Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''Back to the Future'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween. | + | :Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween. |
:Genie: OK, and? | :Genie: OK, and? | ||
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:Megan: My wish is to see their costume. | :Megan: My wish is to see their costume. | ||
− | :[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie | + | :[Megan still holding the lamp and talking to the genie.] |
:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes? | :Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes? | ||
:Megan: These wish things are always traps. | :Megan: These wish things are always traps. | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
− | + | [[Category: Comics featuring Megan]] | |
− | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan | + | [[Category: Fiction]] |
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− | [[Category:Fiction | ||
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