Editing 695: Spirit
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 7: | Line 7: | ||
}} | }} | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | + | {{w|Anthropomorphism}} (or personification) is attribution of distinctly human characteristics to animals or non-living things. We make parallels between ourselves and objects, to the point where some people even jocularly worry about hurting the feelings of, say, an automobile. We call ships "she." We see human faces in objects like the arrangement of lights on the front of a car. | |
| − | It | + | The {{w|Spirit rover|''Spirit'' Mars rover}}, like many high-functioning robots in real life and fiction, shares many physical similarities with a human being or animal. It has a head, eyes, neck, body, legs, feet, arms, and a hand. And it strikingly resembles robots from fiction, such as Johnny 5 from ''{{w|Short Circuit (1986 film)|Short Circuit}},'' or {{w|WALL-E}} from the film with the same name. |
| − | {{w|Opportunity rover|Opportunity}}, the rover's twin, | + | Thus, this comic explores what the ''Spirit'' rover's life would be like if it had a human personality. The rover lasted 5¼ active years on the Martian surface, far exceeding its expected mission duration of 90 Martian days. A sentient robot might assume that after its initially planned 90 {{w|Timekeeping on Mars|Martian day}} mission was over, it would get to return home. This assumes, of course, that the rover never understood that the mission was a one-way trip, and that the expectation was that it would simply fail after ninety days. When no one comes to return it home, ''Spirit'', possibly in a pun on its name, keeps its hopes alive while continuously analyzing rock after rock for ''years.'' |
| + | |||
| + | It would be cruelty of the absolute worst kind to abandon a human on an uninhabited planet with no intention of ''ever'' bringing them home [[[citation needed|285:_Wikipedian_Protester]]], so it feels horrifying when we anthropomorphize the rover. One is rather heartened that the ''Spirit'' rover ''is,'' in fact, just a programmed machine. Furthermore, even if it were sentient, ''Spirit'' has little reason to think of earth as its home, as it had always been designed for Mars, and would have little purpose on earth. Additionally, a sentient machine might be expected to understand the limitations on its own lifespan, and so would expect to survive only three months. From that perspective, surviving for years would seem like a victory, rather than cruelty. [https://imgs.xkcd.com/blag/spirit_rewrite_unknown_author.png One] alternative version of the strip (see below) makes a similar point. | ||
| + | |||
| + | It is worth pointing out that ''{{w|Opportunity rover|Opportunity}},'' the rover's twin, has been even more wildly successful and was only shut down in February 2019 ([[2111: Opportunity Rover]]). More than five years after this comic, when Opportunity had passed a Marathon distance, [[Randall]] celebrated this rover with the comic [[1504: Opportunity]]. | ||
The title text has an apparent miscount: January 26, 2010, is more like sol (Martian day) 2156 by JPL's [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_spiritAll_2010.html#sol2151 mission status site,] not 2274. | The title text has an apparent miscount: January 26, 2010, is more like sol (Martian day) 2156 by JPL's [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_spiritAll_2010.html#sol2151 mission status site,] not 2274. | ||
| Line 17: | Line 21: | ||
The final contact with ''Spirit'' was on sol 2210 (March 22, 2010). | The final contact with ''Spirit'' was on sol 2210 (March 22, 2010). | ||
| − | + | ==Alternative versions== | |
| − | The strip had a strong emotional impact on the fans of the rover, who created a number of alternative versions and endings for it. | + | The strip had a strong emotional impact on the fans of the rover, who created a number of alternative versions and endings for it. |
In a [http://blog.xkcd.com/2010/02/08/android-bug-reports-songs-rovers/ blog post] Randall mentioned this upbeat [https://imgs.xkcd.com/blag/spirit_rewrite_unknown_author.png rewrite] of the comic. [http://xkcdsw.com/2486 Several] [http://xkcdsw.com/2485 others] [http://xkcdsw.com/3524 were] [http://xkcdsw.com/2483 made], including a [http://xkcdsw.com/2488 silent] one. | In a [http://blog.xkcd.com/2010/02/08/android-bug-reports-songs-rovers/ blog post] Randall mentioned this upbeat [https://imgs.xkcd.com/blag/spirit_rewrite_unknown_author.png rewrite] of the comic. [http://xkcdsw.com/2486 Several] [http://xkcdsw.com/2485 others] [http://xkcdsw.com/3524 were] [http://xkcdsw.com/2483 made], including a [http://xkcdsw.com/2488 silent] one. | ||
| − | Many alternative endings were also proposed: some are [http://xkcdsw.com/3729 sad], some [http://xkcdsw.com/2492 sarcastic], some [http://xkcdsw.com/3100 romantic] | + | Many alternative endings were also proposed: |
| + | * some are [http://xkcdsw.com/3729 sad], some [http://xkcdsw.com/2492 sarcastic], some [http://xkcdsw.com/3100 romantic] | ||
| + | * some look forward to the day when Spirit is finally [http://xkcdsw.com/2487 recovered] ([https://imgur.com/r/xkcd/zNi5YSZ this one] was seen somewhere at {{Wikipedia|CERN}}). Others imagine a [http://xkcdsw.com/3968 future] when the rover is not alone any more. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
| Line 45: | Line 51: | ||
:''Spirit'' (thinking): It's okay, I'll do the next one better. | :''Spirit'' (thinking): It's okay, I'll do the next one better. | ||
| − | :Day | + | :Day 1293 of 90 |
:''Spirit'' (thinking): Sandstorm. Power dying. | :''Spirit'' (thinking): Sandstorm. Power dying. | ||
:''Spirit'' (thinking): But a good rover would keep going. A good rover like they wanted. | :''Spirit'' (thinking): But a good rover would keep going. A good rover like they wanted. | ||
