Editing 2536: Wirecutter

Jump to: navigation, search

Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision Your text
Line 8: Line 8:
  
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
 +
{{incomplete|Created by a RELIGION REVIEWER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
  
−
''{{w|Wirecutter (website)|Wirecutter}}'' is a product review website owned by ''The New York Times''. Randall is parodying the website by having them "review" the 70 most popular [[:Category:Religion|religion]]s. Product review websites typically make posts with the "best" X, e.g. "Best smartphones," or "Best laptops." These reviews are useful for consumers trying to choose among the wide variety of products available.  
+
''{{w|Wirecutter (website)|Wirecutter}}'' is a product review website owned by ''The New York Times''. Randall is parodying the website by having them "review" the 70 most popular [[:Category:Religion|religion]]s. Product review websites typically make posts with the "best" X, e.g. "Best smartphones", or "Best laptops".
  
−
There are {{w|List of religions and spiritual traditions|a wide variety of religions}}. However, unlike electronic devices, a person does not usually choose their religion; they are typically taught one during childhood and most remain in that religion their entire life. Changing religions is ([[1102|usually]]) a significant life event. Many religions, including many variants of the three major {{w|Abrahamic religions}} promote {{w|Religious exclusivism|exclusivity}}, and do not recognize other religions as valid. They emphasize the importance of specific practices or belief in specific creeds. Members of those religions might not recognize a reviewer as having truly "tried" their religion if their intent was always to move on to another.
+
However, a post "reviewing" religions is sure to stir up controversy, as most religious followers are passionate about their religious beliefs and don't want to be compared against other religions. More specifically, the 3 major Abrahamic religions promote exclusivity, and do not recognize other religions as valid.
  
−
A post "reviewing" religions is sure to stir up controversy, as many religious followers are passionate about their religious beliefs and believe their religion is best. {{w|Religious_war|Literal wars}} have been fought over the idea one religion could be superior to another, and it is not a wound most practitioners are willing to reopen any time soon. Moreover, religions are typically chosen for more fundamental reasons -- such as by comparing the likelihood that each religion makes accurate claims, or the efficacy of each religion in promoting an ethical life, or the connection a practitioner feels to the religion's rituals, metaphors, and images, or by privileging a preexisting cultural or family connection to a particular tradition -- not by comparing gimmicky features or price.
+
The title text mentions "budget" and "upgrade" picks, which are subcategories for reviewers - cheaper options and options that are good for upgrading your current product to a newer one. Neither of these categories are typical categories for religions and would further anger their adherents.
−
 
 
−
The title text mentions "budget" and "upgrade" picks, which are subcategories for reviewers - cheaper options and options that are good for upgrading your current product. Neither of these categories are typical categories for religions{{Citation needed}} and could further anger their adherents. The association of religion and money could allude to various controversial topics such as {{w|tithe|tithing}}, {{w|indulgences}}, {{w|televangelism}}, or {{w|Prosperity theology}} (yuck).  Budget need not be just about money, it could also refer to the amount of time or effort involved.  (e.g., how much time is spent in religious activities, needing to learn a new language, etc.)  Some religious followers might be offended{{Citation needed}} if their religion was picked in a "budget" category. The idea of a religion "upgrade" evokes the highly divisive concept of {{w|supersessionism}} among the major Abrahamic religions, which would be guaranteed to cause further outcry no matter which one of those the article would pick for the category. (Various forms of {{w|syncretism}} could qualify as an "upgrade," but whatever Wirecutter's intent, that is unlikely to be the first thing anyone reading such an article thinks of.)
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
 +
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
 
:[A New York Times Wirecutter article. There is the NYT logo and Wirecutter logo in the top left. Also in the top of the page is a search bar, a user account icon, and 7 "header" level hyperlinks with illegible text. The article title is as follows:]
 
:[A New York Times Wirecutter article. There is the NYT logo and Wirecutter logo in the top left. Also in the top of the page is a search bar, a user account icon, and 7 "header" level hyperlinks with illegible text. The article title is as follows:]
 
:<b>The Best Religion</b>
 
:<b>The Best Religion</b>
 
:By <u>Wirecutter Staff</u>
 
:By <u>Wirecutter Staff</u>
−
 
−
:[The words "Wirecutter Staff" are followed by illegible text presumably representing the date of the article. Below are icons for Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, and save.]
 
  
 
:[The article's image depicts Cueball shrugging in the center of the picture with many question marks floating above him. The content of the article is as follows:]
 
:[The article's image depicts Cueball shrugging in the center of the picture with many question marks floating above him. The content of the article is as follows:]
−
 
+
:What does it all mean? Our reviewers tried out over 70 of the most popular belief systems. Here's what they found...
−
:What does it all mean? Our reviewers tried out over 70 of the most popular belief systems. Here's what they found…
 
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}

Please note that all contributions to explain xkcd may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see explain xkcd:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

To protect the wiki against automated edit spam, we kindly ask you to solve the following CAPTCHA:

Cancel | Editing help (opens in new window)

Templates used on this page:

Retrieved from "https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2536:_Wirecutter"