Talk:2837: Odyssey

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 03:13, 5 October 2023 by Ianrbibtitlht (talk | contribs) (Refresh clicks?)
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oh boy! first comment + no explanation! did i sign this correctly? 162.158.186.23 21:37, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

added transcript, probably could be done better but i don't have the time right now to look at formatting guides Me[citation needed] 22:03, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

ok maybe i did but someone can make it better Me[citation needed] 22:16, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

In Emily Wilson's translation of the Odyssey (paperback edition), she writes that Odysseus says, "My name is Noman. / My family and friends call me Noman" (9.366-367). So given that the comic is about Emily Wilson's translation, shouldn't the title text say, "Noman was home," not "Nobody was home"? AoPS is superior (talk) 22:35, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

It would depend upon how the original fit within the language. "Οὖτις" ('Outis') is "no one"/"nobody"/"not somebody" rather than "no man" ("man" is "ᾰ̓νήρ", roughly 'aner' and led towards "andras" in less ancient Greek, but I don't right now know how to inflect the "ou" prefix for "no"). Wilson's translation is probably borrowing the general "might be a name"ness and combining it with modern "Norman"-like names to go beyond the literal and give it 'ear-feel'.
The trouble with that is the Macbeth/Witch-King thing whereby "no man" (of woman born, in the case of the former) is said to be able to defeat them, only for a caesarian-delivered individual to get the chance to overcome the resulting hubris in the former case and a tag-team of hobbit and woman (and arguments about which was most important!) in the latter. "No man" has baggage. (With getting hit by an exploding sundial also maybe another unforzeen Achilles' Heel for such fate-determined individuals!)
Yes, possibly by letting these specific translations be canon, I could see it being inportant to stick to their term but... there's so much detail and the rest of the multivolume works probably differ (if you're being exact) from the rest of the paradoic reference here. So not sure it's worth worrying about this. ;) Any more than we don't describe people as having a "swollen foot complex". ;p 172.71.242.21 00:52, 5 October 2023 (UTC)

It's the 21st century. He should have ordered it as an e-book. Barmar (talk) 23:51, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

The current transcript text describes the "Refresh" click as coming after the displayed screen contents. I could be wrong, but I thought the clicks on "Refresh" actually caused the display presented in the panel. Anyone else think the same thing? Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 01:44, 5 October 2023 (UTC)

I initially agreed with you, but noting the "order" process appears to happen at the end of one panel and its result in the next, I feel it's appropriate to maintain the refresh as "after" the content. But it sure does feel unnatural. 172.71.166.66 02:24, 5 October 2023 (UTC)
I thought about that as well, which is why I didn't go ahead and change it without asking. Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 03:13, 5 October 2023 (UTC)