Editing 992: Mnemonics

{{comic
| number    = 992
| date      = December 19, 2011
| title     = Mnemonics
| image     = mnemonics.png
| titletext = 'Sailor Moon's head exploded once' and 'Some men have explosive orgasms' both work for the Great Lakes from west to east (Paddle-to-the-Sea order).
}} 

==Explanation==
A {{w|mnemonic}} is a trick that makes {{w|memory|memorization}} easier. To memorize a sequence of names, a common type of mnemonic uses the beginning letters of the names in the sequence and invents another phrase using different words that start with the same letters. For example, the order of operations goes '''P'''arentheses, '''E'''xponentiation, '''M'''ultiplication and '''D'''ivision, '''A'''ddition and '''S'''ubtraction, and the traditional mnemonic goes '''P'''lease '''E'''xcuse '''M'''y '''D'''ear '''A'''unt '''S'''ally, or in Britain: '''B'''rackets, '''I'''ndices, '''M'''ultiplication, '''D'''ivision, '''A'''ddition and '''S'''ubtraction: there is no mnemonic, just the word "BIMDAS" to remember. To make them more memorable, mnemonics are usually quite silly and often vulgar. In this comic, Randall invents various scientific mnemonics, some of them as suggested replacements for traditional ones.

The category is listed at the top of the box, the members are listed below that. Then there is the traditional mnemonic that children are usually taught in school to help them remember. Below the comic is one or two options for new mnemonics suggested by Randall. The top one is illustrated in the frame.

*{{w|SI}} Prefixes are the prefixes for the systems of units to indicate the orders of magnitude for the given value, and since there is one prefix set for large numbers (increasing multipliers), and another one for the small ones (similarly progressive fractions), the mnemonic needs two lines.
**{{w|Karl Marx}}, as visible in the comic, was a German philosopher and economist who, among other things, popularized the ideas of socialism and communism. Central to his ideas was the {{w|dictatorship of the proletariat}}, or the working class achieved by an uprising of the lower class, which taken literally could be done using zeppelins.
**{{w|Microsoft}}'s {{w|Zune}} was a failed mp3 player that Microsoft brought to market. It never caught on.

*{{w|Taxonomy}} is the science of identifying and naming species. {{w|Katy Perry}}, portrayed in the panel, is an {{w|United States|American}} {{w|pop music}} singer, whose popular songs are ones like "Firework" or "I Kissed A Girl".

*In the geologic periods frame, the illustration is of a month's worth of "the pill", a common contraceptive. The affliction Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, causes women to have an irregular menstrual period. This can be treated with a low powered version of the contraceptive pill. Here, [[Randall]] has misspelt the word "contraceptive".

*{{w|Electronic_color_code#Resistors|Resistor Color Codes}} represent the values 0 through 9 and are used to indicate the resistance value of discrete cylindrical resistors, with 2 or 3 color bands around the resistor body for the significant digits of the value and another color band for a power of ten multiplier.  A resistor with Yellow-Violet-Red bands would be 47 x 10^2 or 4700 ohms. {{w|Glenn Beck}} is shown in this panel, a far-right conservative commentator in the US who used to have a show on the {{w|Fox News}} Network. His yelling about "Big Brother reptilian overlords" is a reference to his [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-top-9-glenn-beck-cons_b_3361097 real-life promotion of conspiracy theories]. Resistor color codes were previously mentionned in [[227: Color Codes]].
**The prevailing mnemonic for resistor color codes is rather vulgar (and memorable), hence Randall's comment "none I care for". It involved Bad Boys and Young Girls, as well as a specific girl named Violet. However, there are many other mnemonics, to the point that Wikipedia has a {{w|List of electronic color code mnemonics|whole page dedicated to them}}.
**{{w|WP:BOLD|Be Bold}} is a {{w|Wikipedia}} credo. Respect Others may be a reference to {{w|WP:AGF|Assume Good Faith}}, another Wikipedia philosophy.

*In the Planets frame, the illustration is of Mary and Joseph, who in the story of the Birth of Jesus in the Bible, were mother and father to Jesus. However, Mary's conception of Jesus was from God and Mary was still considered a virgin. This mnemonic shows Joseph not really believing that story. Ironically the upstairs neighbour could have multiple meanings as you can't get more upstairs than heaven and thus God. Given the snarky tone of most xkcd comics take, it is likely a corporeal neighbor that is being suspected, but it is curious that a neighbor of the upstairs variety is specifically referenced especially given the lack of urban density in the time of Christ.
**Earlier traditional Planets mnemonics included Pluto, which was "officially" considered a planet before 2006. The traditional mnemonic at that time was '''M'''y '''V'''ery '''E'''xcellent '''M'''other '''J'''ust '''S'''erved '''U'''s '''N'''ine '''P'''izzas, instead of just nachos!

*The {{w|Great Lakes}} mentioned by the title text are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario
**''{{w|Sailor Moon}}'' is an anime and manga series. The eponymous {{w|Sailor Moon (character)|Sailor Moon}} (Usagi Tsukino), has never had her head exploded, however.
**''{{w|Paddle-to-the-Sea}}'' is an illustrated children's book by {{w|Holling C. Holling}} about a toy boat's journey through the Great Lakes.

==Transcript==
:XKCD Presents:
:'''Some New Science Mnemonics'''

:[Pattern of each given situation goes:
:*[Within panel frame]
:**''Subject''
:**''Elements''
:**''Traditional mnemonic(s)''
:**''Illustrated contents of frame''
:*[Below panel frame]
:**''New mnemonic(s)''
:...there are three rows with two situations in each, unequally sized as required for respective widths of contents.]

:'''Order of Operations'''
:Parentheses, Exponents, Division & Multiplication, Addition & Subtraction
:Traditional: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
:[Cueball, pointing at his laptop, with Ponytail carrying a shark.]
:Please Email My Dad A Shark  
:or
:People Expect More Drugs And Sex

:'''SI Prefixes'''
:[In this section, the final words (and preceding comma) are given in a roughly halftone gray for the two given lists of terms and each respective mnemonic.]
:Big: Kilo, Mega, Giga, Tera, Peta, Exa, Zetta[Halftone:], Yotta
:Milli, Micro, Nano, Pico, Femto, Atto, Zepto[Halftone:], Yocto
:Traditional: [Text in square-brackets:] I never learned one.
:[Graph of the declining profits of the Zune.]
:[Karl Marx delivering a number of zeppelins to a bunch of confused proletarians.]
:[Proletarians (off-screen):] Er. What do we do with them?
:[Karl Marx:] Rise!
:Big: Karl Marx Gave The Proletariat Eleven Zeppelins[Halftone:], Yo.
:Small: Microsoft Made No Profit From Anyone's Zunes[Halftone:], Yo.

:'''Taxonomy'''
:Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
:Traditional: King Philip Came Over For Good Sex
:[Katy Perry standing.]
:[Katy Perry:] I'm not sure who doubts this, really.
:Katy Perry Claims Orgasms Feel Good Sometimes
:or
:Kernel Panics Crash Our Family Game System.

:'''Geologic Periods'''
:(Precambrian), Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene
:Traditional: [Text in square-brackets:] I never learned one.
:[A month's set of birth control pills.]
:PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome Does Cause Problems That Judicious Contraceptves [sic] Partially Negate

:'''Resistor Color Codes'''
:Black Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Gray, White
:Traditional: [Text in square-brackets:] none I care for
:[Glenn Beck holding the traditional "Nanobot Vaccine Chemtrail 9/11" sign.]
:"Big Brother Reptilian Overlords", yelled Glenn, "Brainwashing Via Ground water!!";
:or
:Be Bold, Respect Others; You'll Gradually Become Versatile, Great Wikipedians!

:'''Planets'''
:Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
:Traditional: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos
:[A pregnant Mary attempting to explain things to an incredulous Joseph with black hair and full beard]
:[Joseph:] Uh huh.
:Mary's "Virgin" Explanation Made Joseph Suspect Upstairs Neighbor.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Airships]]
[[Category:Sharks]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Sex]]