Editing Talk:1658: Estimating Time

Nice to see [[Danish]] so clearly back in action. It was also way too long since there have been any clear references to self reference although it of course doesn't reach the level of [[688: Self-Description]]. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:00, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

Makes me wonder if Randall is working on another big comic, and how long those take him. - Dan - [[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.77|198.41.235.77]] 13:25, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
 
Why does it make you wonder if he is working on another big comic? I mean, that'd be cool, but why?

What am I missing?

ANSWER ME

The garden is the answer.

[[1627: Woosh]] {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.101}}
:Well, he's been up against a deadline for a while, I suspect: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/science/randall-munroe-xkcd-science-textbook.html He's written "The story of What's Inside Your Body" for high school students. "…stick figures and simplistic diagrams annotated with curiously nontechnical prose. A schematic of the human body, for instance, looks more like a subway map with various organs labeled as “air bag,” “blood pusher,” “thinking bag” and so on." [[User:Npsych|Npsych]] ([[User talk:Npsych|talk]]) 09:23, 22 March 2016 (UTC)
::Thanks for that info! :-) Another possibility is that we are close to [[:Category:April fools' comics|April 1st]] and he usually does something rather big around that day --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:14, 22 March 2016 (UTC)

Why is this talking about adding doubling imaginary numbers? Time estimates are usually non-negative real numbers. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.165|162.158.91.165]] 15:01, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
: I was thinking the exact same thing until I realized that in this context, "imaginary" refers to "non-existent": The numbers being doubled only exist in Ponytail's head. I was very confused until I realized that he wasn't referring to complex numbers with a real component of zero. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.35|173.245.54.35]] 16:14, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
: lolol "Yes, yes, you're very smart. Now shut up." [[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 16:21, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

This may be a reference to the rule of thumb that you double your estimate and raise to the next higher unit. E.g.if you think it will take two days, give an estimate of four weeks. There are of course many similar rules out there.
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.133.144|162.158.133.144]] 15:58, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
This is only too real.[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 17:48, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

What about the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference?  ("Don't Panic")  [[User:Arthulia|Arthulia]] ([[User talk:Arthulia|talk]]) 21:27, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
: No. It's not a reference. General rule of thumb- "If you have to ask 'Is this a reference?' then it almost certainly isn't." -Pennpenn. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 23:32, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
:: A reference must be explicit. It could be an allusion, but not a reference. Anyway, "If you have to ask 'Is this an allusion?' then it almost certainly isn't." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.103.219|141.101.103.219]] 00:12, 22 March 2016 (UTC)
:::It was just for fun I added this, the ''don't panic'' statement. That Randall has references the book before was the reason. If it detracts too much attention from the explanation delete it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:14, 22 March 2016 (UTC)

[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1658:_Estimating_Time&diff=next&oldid=115357 This] is absurd. We shouldn't link [[Ponytail]] and [[Danish]] every time their names appear. I deleted 11 links. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.103.219|141.101.103.219]] 00:23, 22 March 2016 (UTC)
:True only the first time just like any wiki link should only be given once even though the concept is mentioned several times. There can be a few exceptions, but not like the ones you deleted. :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:14, 22 March 2016 (UTC)

The way I read it, Danish isn't offering to help Ponytail estimate the amount of time needed, she's offering to help her panic: "Don't panic - there's a simple trick for that"; i.e. a simple trick for panicking. {{unsigned ip|162.158.31.205}}