Editing 2315: Eventual Consistency

{{comic
| number    = 2315
| date      = June 3, 2020
| title     = Eventual Consistency
| image     = eventual_consistency.png
| titletext = Later I'm going to get a head start on the heat bath.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]]'s employer wants him to continue his work, possibly as a home-based remote worker as encouraged by the common current advice during the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 COVID-19 pandemic}}.

The stated task is to "test the database" and "guarantee eventual consistency". Trying to avoid work, Cueball points out that the {{w|second law of thermodynamics}} itself "guarantees eventual consistency", as the {{w|universe}} is ''guaranteed'' to ''eventually'' die a {{w|Heat death of the universe|heat death}}, at maximum {{w|entropy}} and perfect ''consistency''. His boss responds that in a system that has reached maximum entropy, no {{w|work}} can be performed (as this requires a difference in energy states between two sources).  Cueball claims that he's simply getting a head start on this.

''Eventual consistency'' has a double meaning here.  In computing, many systems are ''{{w|distributed computing|distributed}}'' (spread out) across multiple servers, sometimes in very different parts of the world.  When data changes -- like the number of views on a video or the likes on a social media post -- updating it across ''every'' server can be a challenge, and it's often not necessary to keep the data perfectly in sync everywhere.  So the system will use {{w|eventual consistency}} instead.  Each individual server will record changes, and after a certain amount of time or a certain amount of change, the results will be synced across the whole network.  At any given moment, an individual server's data will be a little off -- but ''eventually'' everything will get recorded correctly.

The title text constitutes another play on the words "heat bath", which can refer to the thermally uniform state of the universe at {{w|heat death}}. However, in this context, we can assume Cueball instead plans to prepare a literal warm bath for his own relaxation and enjoyment after or during (or instead of) his work.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a home desk.]
:Laptop: I know it's hard to focus right now, but we should try to finish testing the DB.
:Cueball: ''Ughhhh.''
:Cueball: Okay.

:[A frameless panel. Cueball still sitting at his desk. He has his hand on his chin.]
:Laptop: The system needs to guarantee eventual consistency.
:Cueball: I mean, it does.

:[Closeup of Cueball.]
:Cueball: Eventual consistency is guaranteed by the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
:Cueball: Sooner or later this will all be a uniform heat bath.
:Cueball: Maximum entropy.

:[Back to Cueball and desk.  Cueball is leaning back in his chair.]
:Laptop: Maximum entropy means no useful work can be done!
:Cueball: I'm getting a head start by doing no useful work ''now''.

==Trivia==
* Randall has previously invoked the second law of thermodynamics (indirectly) to provide a "big picture" solution to the {{w|halting problem}} in [[1266: Halting Problem]], concluding that (in the real world, rather than the case of the ideal infinite {{w|Turing machine}}) all programs do halt...eventually.
* In [[2282: Coronavirus Worries]], Randall asserted that worrying about "whether you're getting enough work done" is common but not very healthy.  Evidently Cueball has taken his advice to heart, but Cueball's boss has not.
* A new [[header_text#2020-06-03_-_Black_Lives_Matter|header text (Black Lives Matter)]] appeared earlier on the day that this comic debuted.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Physics]]