Editing 721: Flatland
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | + | {{incomplete|I just added the information on unixkcd from https://vimeo.com/78912850. Are there any other undocumented commands?}}. | |
| − | Humans will never fully be able to | + | This comic is a reference to the satirical novel {{w|Flatland|''Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions''}}, in which a society of flat shapes live in a {{w|Two-dimensional space|2D}} world. Half the book is a direct satire of {{w|Victorian era|Victorian}} society, and the other half explores the experience of discovering a new dimension, where a sphere introduces a square (named A. Square) to {{w|Three-dimensional space|3D}}. [[Cueball]] appears to have taken the place of this sphere, and the comic takes place after the square knows the third dimension exists. |
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| + | Humans will never fully be able to grasp the concept of a four spatial dimensions (at least not in the foreseeable future), but there are ways of squashing or slicing four dimensions to create partial visualizations of 4D space. {{w|Miegakure}} is a 4D game that uses cross-sections of 4D space. Cueball attempted to play it, but after having his mind blown, he gained more sympathy for A. Square, who'd had similar trouble understanding 3D. A. Square accepts his apology. | ||
The joke here is that Cueball was being silly and drew lines on A. Square to make him look like {{w|SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob}}, which did not make the square happy. Cueball apologizes again. | The joke here is that Cueball was being silly and drew lines on A. Square to make him look like {{w|SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob}}, which did not make the square happy. Cueball apologizes again. | ||
| − | The title text is a third apology for when Cueball crawled down into the second dimension. Being a stick figure, he is | + | The title text is a third apology for when Cueball crawled down into the second dimension. Being a stick figure, he is comprised of a circle and straight lines. In Flatland, circles are priests (Flatland's highest social level), and all women are lines; thus, to a watcher in Flatland, Cueball would look very much like a priest above many connected women, which may look like a lesbian orgy. |
| − | + | This comic was released on March 31, 2010 and was still up on April 1st, 2010. On {{w|April_Fools%27_Day|April Fools' Day}} [[Randall]] altered the website to mimic a {{w|Unix}} command line interface. This interface is still available on [https://uni.xkcd.com uni.xkcd.com]. | |
| + | Besides the listed commands "display", "next", "prev", "first", "last", "display", "random", "ls", "cat" and "cd" there are some undocumented commands: | ||
| + | * "cat" (without a filename) will show "You're a kitty!" referencing [[231: Cat Proximity]]. | ||
| + | * "rm [filename]" will make it seem like you deleted the file. | ||
| + | * "clear" clears the screen. | ||
| + | * "wget [url]" shows the content of the specified url. | ||
| + | * "unixkcd" opens an new terminal window. | ||
| + | There are also some other commands borrowed from a {{w|Zork}} like {{w|Text-based_game|text based adventure game}}. | ||
| + | * "look" describes your current surroundings. | ||
| + | * "go [direction]" moves you in the specified direction. | ||
| + | You will be killed by a {{w|Grue_(monster)|grue}} when going south. | ||
| + | Going west repeatedly will list the refrain from the song {{w|Go_West_(song)|Go west}}. | ||
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| + | ==Trivia== | ||
| + | There is actually a SpongeBob episode featuring a flat creature that resembles a crude drawing of SpongeBob. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
| − | :[Cueball | + | :[Cueball encounters a square on the ground.] |
:Cueball: Hey, A. Square. How's Flatland? | :Cueball: Hey, A. Square. How's Flatland? | ||
| − | : | + | :Square: Still flat. What's up? |
:Cueball: I just spent an hour playing a demo of this 4D game called Miegakure. | :Cueball: I just spent an hour playing a demo of this 4D game called Miegakure. | ||
| − | :[ | + | :[A character in Miegakure jumps around the 4D landscape.] |
| − | + | :Trying to jump from block to block in four dimensions hurt my brain. | |
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:Cueball: So I apologize for giving you a hard time when you were slow to understand 3D space. I sympathize now. | :Cueball: So I apologize for giving you a hard time when you were slow to understand 3D space. I sympathize now. | ||
| − | : | + | :Square: It's okay. |
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:Cueball: Also, I apologize for drawing arms, legs, and eyes on you to make you look like SpongeBob. That was out of line. | :Cueball: Also, I apologize for drawing arms, legs, and eyes on you to make you look like SpongeBob. That was out of line. | ||
| − | : | + | :Square: Yes, it was. |
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
| − | + | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | |
[[Category:Comics with color]] | [[Category:Comics with color]] | ||
| − | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Math]] |
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[[Category:Video games]] | [[Category:Video games]] | ||
[[Category:Homosexuality]] | [[Category:Homosexuality]] | ||
[[Category:Sex]] | [[Category:Sex]] | ||
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