Editing 2502: Every Data Table
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| image = every data table.png | | image = every data table.png | ||
| titletext = I'm hoping 2022 is relatively normal because I don't know what symbol comes after the asterisk and the dagger. | | titletext = I'm hoping 2022 is relatively normal because I don't know what symbol comes after the asterisk and the dagger. | ||
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In the title text [[Randall]] states that he hopes 2022 is relatively normal. Comically, he doesn't mainly hope for this because he wants the COVID-19 pandemic to end, but rather because he doesn't know what footnote symbol to use after the asterisk and the dagger. | In the title text [[Randall]] states that he hopes 2022 is relatively normal. Comically, he doesn't mainly hope for this because he wants the COVID-19 pandemic to end, but rather because he doesn't know what footnote symbol to use after the asterisk and the dagger. | ||
| − | At the time of this comic's publication in August 2021, nothing | + | It is hard to know what 2022 might be like. At the time of this comic's publication in August 2021, nothing is exactly back to normal and proper recovery or the resulting compensatory readjustment may not have concluded in time for 2022 to reflect the trends expected based upon pre-2020 figures, and the additional further years that future statistics will record. |
Common symbols that are used after the asterisk and dagger include the double dagger (‡), the section symbol/silcrow (§), the parallel/double-pipe (‖) and the paragraph symbol/pilcrow (¶). Alternately one could use multiple symbols (such as †† or ***) or superscript numbers (¹, ², ³ ...). | Common symbols that are used after the asterisk and dagger include the double dagger (‡), the section symbol/silcrow (§), the parallel/double-pipe (‖) and the paragraph symbol/pilcrow (¶). Alternately one could use multiple symbols (such as †† or ***) or superscript numbers (¹, ², ³ ...). | ||
| − | Unrelated to the usage as English footnote characters, the asterisk and dagger symbol are used in German mainly as the shorthand "genealogic signs" to express "born" and "died" respectively (e.g. in encyclopaedias, as the German terms | + | Unrelated to the usage as English footnote characters, the asterisk and dagger symbol are used in German mainly as the shorthand "genealogic signs" to express "born" and "died" respectively (e.g. in encyclopaedias, as the German terms are three-syllable words for both and need to be shortened), so a person that is 2020(*) and 2021(†) would have been alive for only about a year, depending on the months. This symbology is also used on some tomb stones. An optimistic view is the "birth" and "death" of the coronavirus {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which would also understandably result in uncertainty on the next symbol in this order, for 2022. Pessimists in this context might suggest to use ∞, which is the symbol for infinity. |
| − | Similarly, in biology, | + | Similarly, in biology, species (or genus, etc...) that are possibly extinct are indicated with an asterisk and dagger is used to note the possible extinction (double asterisks indicate taxa believed to be extinct in the wild but known to be extant in cultivation). This of course do not fit well with COVID-19, which is not close to extinction. |
Randall seems not to have noticed the potential {{w|monkey's paw}} nature of his wish. "Relative" requires a comparison between things. It could be that the whole fall-out of the pandemic becomes the new normal, and future years have no necessity to use symbols to explain how those years come to be like everyone knows they are, while dates before 2020 will be entirely understood as the old normal. Only 2020 and 2021 may need contextual clarifying, due to their nature as a transition from the old normal to the new normal. | Randall seems not to have noticed the potential {{w|monkey's paw}} nature of his wish. "Relative" requires a comparison between things. It could be that the whole fall-out of the pandemic becomes the new normal, and future years have no necessity to use symbols to explain how those years come to be like everyone knows they are, while dates before 2020 will be entirely understood as the old normal. Only 2020 and 2021 may need contextual clarifying, due to their nature as a transition from the old normal to the new normal. | ||
== Transcript == | == Transcript == | ||
| − | :[A data table is shown with eight years given. After each year is a series of dots, followed by illegible squiggles. The table is slanted compared to the panel, and closely cropped so it's impossible to tell how far the squiggles might extend | + | :[A data table is shown with eight years given. After each year is a series of dots, followed by illegible squiggles. The table is slanted compared to the panel, and closely cropped so it's impossible to tell how far the squiggles might extend. Two of the years are marked with symbols indicating unseen footnotes.] |
:2017....... | :2017....... | ||
:2018....... | :2018....... | ||
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[[Category:COVID-19]] | [[Category:COVID-19]] | ||
[[Category:Statistics]] | [[Category:Statistics]] | ||
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