THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: jwhouk on 22 Jul 2012, 18:50
-
And now, the REST of the story...
-
butts butts butts butts butts
-
Wouldn't the opposite be "hook-down"?
-
I think this is my favorite comic in a while.
-
"Hey now, that could be any mayor!" Also, I like how Faye and Marten's evening consisted of drinking the stuff under the sink.
-
Tai doesn't think much of her own butt (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=768).
-
To be fair, she dated Marten and he doesn't have much trunk junk, either. Apparently she is into that.
-
So wait, they have Donkey's in that town? Didn't know Dora was a connoisseur of Asses.....
-
On the whole, Americans prefer their rude words to be less blatant; hence ass rather than arse.
-
As a fan and frequent user of the word Fuck, among other profanities, I would disagree.
-
!!!
There is a secret in the comic right now which only two people, to my knowledge, have guessed. He he he
Let the Wild Mass Guessing begin!
(No, Hanners is not a dude. He already ruled that one out.)
-
Hah ... "friendcest"
Didn't know that one.
-
On the whole, Americans prefer their rude words to be less blatant; hence ass rather than arse.
Interesting. I find myself using British-isms when I'm in company that prefers I don't use my considerable vocabulary of American cusswords. I can use "arse" and "bloody" in situations where the words "ass" and "f**ing" will get me responses of horror and disapproval.
-
It's a huge generalisation, of course, and any number of counter examples can be found. But none the less, overall it is widely recorded to be so. As another example, I offer: "shoot" for "shit".
-
!!!
There is a secret in the comic right now which only two people, to my knowledge, have guessed. He he he
Let the Wild Mass Guessing begin!
(No, Hanners is not a dude. He already ruled that one out.)
They're all dudes except for Hanners.
Also I love Dora's poofy hair. I think it's actually how Hanners wears her hair a lot of the time so it's a neat switch up.
-
I've been given the odd horrified expression when saying "bugger", which is a pretty mild curse in Australia.
I assume that the secret is slightly more interesting and subtle than Dora's apparent change in hairstyle...
-
It's a huge generalisation, of course, and any number of counter examples can be found. But none the less, overall it is widely recorded to be so. As another example, I offer: "shoot" for "shit".
Oh, I wasn't trying to rebut. It's just interesting that what's supremely offensive in the US is seen as a less-offensive alternative in the UK, and vice versa. "Bollocks" gets you a bemused stare on my side of the Atlantic, for example.
Your point about bowdlerization is taken, though, and sometimes the results are unintentionally hilarious, such as the network TV bowdlerization of the one funny line in "Good Morning Vietnam," in which the officious lietuenant is told he needs a "real" job.
-
I've been given the odd horrified expression when saying "bugger", which is a pretty mild curse in Australia.
I'm in Northern Ireland and "bugger" is my go to word for if I display clumsiness. Only one person has called me out on it, while I was in work, because her child might have heard me. The child was at the opposite end of the shop and appeared to be at least tween age.
~ ~
I wonder if the secret is anything to do with the trans* question on Twitter a while back. Or maybe asexuality because Jeph retweeted something about it right before the Secret tweet. #ConspiracyTheories #HashtagsInPlacesThatAreNotTwitter
-
!!!
There is a secret in the comic right now which only two people, to my knowledge, have guessed. He he he
Let the Wild Mass Guessing begin!
(No, Hanners is not a dude. He already ruled that one out.)
Well, let's see - Faye's scar was there in all four panels.
That IS a new poster on the wall across from the counter.
Dora, obviously, has decided to wear a headband today - which means her hair's growing out.
Which means... wait, I thought it turned blonde when she grew it out????
EDIT: Oh, wait, I think he meant FRIDAY'S comic.
In which case - so Dora has an iPad. Who cares?
-
I like Dora's hairband, or whatever you call it, and hairdo here.
The discussion here makes me wonder what kind of women Dora is into. We know she found Marten's mom appealing, and there's the obvious interest in Tai. Otherwise she's never really said or shown much.
-
Which means... wait, I thought it turned blonde when she grew it out????
Only if she stops dying it. ;)
EDIT: Oh, wait, I think he meant FRIDAY'S comic.
Sounded more like he meant QC in general.
Anyway, the secret is that last Wednesday's comic is actually canon.
-
If she is anything like me, personality has more to do with her attraction to girls than their specific physical traits. I have dated a pretty wide spectrum of women when it comes to physical attributes, but a fairly narrow band when it comes to personality types.
-
I hope the secret doesn't have to do with Faye's dad. The aching lack of an explanation is good storytelling and true to life.
-
The secret is in the schnapps.
-
It's a huge generalisation, of course, and any number of counter examples can be found. But none the less, overall it is widely recorded to be so. As another example, I offer: "shoot" for "shit".
American adults do not say shoot unless they spend a lot of time around kids. Children say it because they get in trouble for saying shit, which is silly since they spend the first 5 years of their life allowed to say poop. Mostly it is for kids that we say dang, heck, shoot, etc in lieu of damn, hell, and shit.
-
The secret is there is no secret
Either that or Tai is Doras 'Love Child' sister.
-
As a side note, Doras hair looks a lot poofier than normal, maybe the hairband, maybe something else, just observing
-
It's a huge generalisation, of course, and any number of counter examples can be found. But none the less, overall it is widely recorded to be so. As another example, I offer: "shoot" for "shit".
I'm Canadian and the swear word hierarchy is perhaps sliiiightly different from the US, but pretty close. From where I'm standing, ass is more blatant than arse. Looking up the etymology quickly, it looks like it's probably just two pronounciation variants of the same term, not a bowdlerization.
I'm totally willing to entertain the notion that British people are less likely to care than Americans, and that's perhaps *why* Americans will sometimes substitute a similar British word that is considered fairly innocuous where they are from -- you can get away with arse in contexts where you can't get away with ass, shite when you can't get away with shit, and so on. I kind of suspect any swear word that isn't used where you're from sounds perhaps a bit childish and bowdlerized, even if from the speaker's perspective they are the harshest mouth-sounds they could come up with, so I don't think comparing specific word choices are great examples.
(shoot for shit is a good example, though I don't think I've heard anybody say that when my age was in the double digits).
-
The secret is that Sven and Dora are only half-siblings, due mostly to her parents' regard for mind-altering substances and association with people of like mind.
-
Sup. Lost my old log in, kinda new-ish. Re-registered to voice my opinion on the secret. Is it ...
Padma never left?
(Inception bong.mp4)
-
Welcome back. What was your old log in?
-
And the "About Last Night" scenario awaiting us?
Tai will talk to Dora - and Dora will let her down gently. 2 (4.9%)
Dora will talk to Tai - and Tai will let her down gently (!). 1 (2.4%)
Tai will talk to Dora - and Dora will JUMP HER BONES. 6 (14.6%)
Dora will talk to Tai - and Tai will act accordingly. 7 (17.1%)
They won't talk - it'll be awkwardness all around. 11 (26.8%)
The interns are talking about who THEY want to bed! 3 (7.3%)
Claire and Marten either hook-up or hook-down. 2 (4.9%)
Claire decides SHE wants to jump Dora! 0 (0%)
A whole week of Yelling Bird! 1 (2.4%)
Butts! (DAMN YOU WILLIS!) 8 (19.5%)
Banana Smoothie, Spathe Ham, Waffles, Your Meme Here, etc. 0 (0%)
Total Members Voted: 41
-
Awkwardness beats butts!
Hmmm... that didn't come out right.
-
Dora has a new look. Not bad, not bad...
-
I'm starting to wonder if this new poster isn't a screen, connected to the space station, that Hanners would have brought from up there. I don't know why I'm thinking that, it's just stuck in my mind.
-
The skull poster from last time we saw that side of the shop (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2172 (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2172)) is no longer there.
Also, the "space" picture is now in portrait orientation, instead of landscape (as it was in 2172).
The chairs are different, too.
AND, 64 strips later, she's still wearing the same t-shirt. (It was pink when she dropped in on Faye, Marten and Tai, though.)
-
The skull poster from last time we saw that side of the shop (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2172 (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2172)) is no longer there.
Also, the "space" picture is now in portrait orientation, instead of landscape (as it was in 2172).
The chairs are different, too.
AND, 64 strips later, she's still wearing the same t-shirt. (It was pink when she dropped in on Faye, Marten and Tai, though.)
Actually, you can still see part of the skull poster in the last panel of today's strip. Also, the 'space' pic was less landscape, and just a bit more square - you can see the edge of the frame by Faye's neck in 2172. An acceptable slight deviation, I'd say.
-
The secret is that Sven and Dora are only half-siblings, due mostly to her parents' regard for mind-altering substances and association with people of like mind.
Faye is calling Dora Sppokypants. Dora used to have a doll named Princess Spookypants till Sven revealed he had hidden it from her for some time (including some fossilized candy). Dora has inadvertently dressed up like her old doll by accident.
-
These guesses are awesome. The only thing that would be more astounding would be if one of them were actually correct. :lol:
Anyway, I can't criticise - I have absolutely no idea. If a couple of people have guessed, then there they must have done so from some little clue given in a recent strip, but as to what it might have been... as I said, no idea.
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbBx4Ql6Umo
-
The secret is that Jeph is totally turning Dora into Winona Ryder.
Faye is calling Dora Sppokypants. Dora used to have a doll named Princess Spookypants till Sven revealed he had hidden it from her for some time (including some fossilized candy). Dora has inadvertently dressed up like her old doll by accident.
Think about it: Beetlejuice has GOT to be one of Dora's favorite movies!
(https://www.box.com/shared/static/e571357fbbba842731e8.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/c9BUt.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/Iq3tO.jpg)
-
Well if we're posting youtubes about swearing, have some fine quality British comedy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmRTUNh1vPo
-
Well if we're posting youtubes about swearing, have some fine quality British comedy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmRTUNh1vPo
An Anime series distilled into one word: FUCK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKwaPSkjXp0
-
Momo's chassis isn't military grade dearie like Pintsize's.
-
And we see that Emily's enthusiasm can sometimes make her say silly things. Either that or she has a good reason for not wanting to go back to the shop?
-
Wow, that's some humidity! It doesn't just make Gabby's hair frizz to afro, but changes her features too. :-D And Momo has suddenly developed "joints" at the base of her neck and at her shoulders (unless she's wearing a flesh-coloured t-shirt under her tankie). Yay for art evolution!
-
I feel kinda bad for Claire. She just can't win.
If she's a bitch to Marten, the other two get (rightfully) pissed at her. If she tries being nice, she gets called a kiss-ass. The only good option for her is to sit down and shut up - a position I'm all too familiar with. It's hardly fair :/
But hey, that's life, I suppose.
-
Why exactly might Tai be "sleeping in"?
I* she sneaking over to CoD and its the clash of the regulars again? Or something entirely different?
edot:
*Is ... god, typing os so hard today for some reason °O
-
It's a context thing. If you're an ambitious person (and we know Claire is), and you're doing something nice for someone higher in the hierarchy, it's very easy for people to suspect some sort of ulterior motive. Especially if it seems otherwise out of character.
Her motive is actually kind of interesting to me. Her stated reason, not having to go to the coffee shop, seems kind of weird. But it's possible- I get the impression she's very focused, type-A and where the others see an opportunity to take a break she might see a wasted opportunity to accomplish something. She might be trying to ingratiate herself (kiss ass) with Marten, as Gabby was saying. And, admittedly kind of a long shot, she might actually be hitting on him in a sort of awkward, nerdy way. But that seems a little too Marigold for a plot arc. Oh, she could just want to thank him for the training (booooring). Lastly, she's just unwilling to go to coffee of doom for reasons unknown.
I reject her simply being really nice by way of her not getting anyone else anything.
-
Wow, that's some humidity! It doesn't just make Gabby's hair frizz to afro, but changes her features too. :-D And Momo has suddenly developed "joints" at the base of her neck and at her shoulders (unless she's wearing a flesh-coloured t-shirt under her tankie). Yay for art evolution!
The shoulder joints we saw here (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2028), but yeah, I believe the neck is new.
-
edot:
Some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you...
-
Why exactly might Tai be "sleeping in"?
Hangover.
As someone whose curly hair is very sensitive to humidity, I sympathise with Claire and Gabby – although since I wear them long it's not a big issue, and I actually find that they look better with the extra curliness.
And Emily is quirky as usual.
-
Bwahaha. I love Emily now.
-
Damn, Gabby, you are not a morning person.
-
As a research assistant with no keys, this comic speaks to me.
(There is a back door that's always unlocked, but then the security cameras see me :psyduck:)
-
The rare kindhearted yet kiss-ass gesture that also implies your supervisor has a lousy work ethic. Claire is destined for Big Things.
-
Momo is the cutest battering ram you ever will see.
-
I think I would have the same reaction as Momo to the suggestion that I be used as a battering ram.
-
Or, you know, just go to Tai's place and get her keys.
-
Yeah. Tai lives in a dorm, right? How far can it be?
-
Love how Emily is good at lateral thinking.
-
What they need is for Raven to ninja her way in.
-
Shush you guys! I wanna see Faye make Claire squirm some more!
-
Shush you guys! I wanna see Faye make Claire squirm some more!
I would too, but that's Rule 34 and frowned on in here!
Emily is one lateral suggestion away from getting herself BZZZZAT'd by Momo.
-
She might like that. Banana Smoothie!
-
Shush you guys! I wanna see Faye make Claire squirm some more!
I would too, but that's Rule 34 and frowned on in here!
Goddammit, why did you make me think of a S&M scene with those two?
-
Nobody made your mind go there...
...it went of it's own volition!
-
The question is, why did he make us think about it? :-o
-
The Secret is...
Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman. 7 (22.6%)
The Peppermint Schnapps was actually Hannelore's. 4 (12.9%)
Dora's growing her hair out - and it's not turning blonde. 5 (16.1%)
Dora's looking a LOT like a certain Lieutenant up on the Station. 3 (9.7%)
Dora owns a first-gen iPad. FIRST generation! 0 (0%)
Cookies on Dora's floor = contact high from Tai's earlier weed smoking. 0 (0%)
Dora's actually looking at buying a house! 1 (3.2%)
The headband moved forward and back across Dora's ears! 0 (0%)
Fresh Cuts Salon and Panda House went out of business YEARS ago. 0 (0%)
Dora's place has NO AIR CONDITIONING! 1 (3.2%)
There is no such thing as SPACE HAM! 1 (3.2%)
The Waffles are a LIE! 3 (9.7%)
DAMN YOU WILLIS! 6 (19.4%)
Total Members Voted: 31
-
Emily, I like the cut of your jib.
-
Or, you know, just go to Tai's place and get her keys.
Is it really a good idea, after your boss has told you she's sleeping in, to go knocking on her door?
-
The question is, why did he make us think about it? :-o
Cause i'm a sadist?
-
We don't know how strong AnthroPCs are. Could Momo wrench the door open? She probably wouldn't be willing to do property damage.
-
We don't know how strong AnthroPCs are. Could Momo wrench the door open? She probably wouldn't be willing to do property damage.
Waitwaitwait, if you're implying that Momo (and by default all AnthroPCs) has a "morality" chip, then explain why Pintsize is grossing out folks all the time?
-
Momo might simply want to keep her job.
Jeph said AnthroPCs have complete free will, but fortunately they like us. Pintsize probably thinks he is doing people favors by sending them horse porn.
-
Waitwaitwait, if you're implying that Momo (and by default all AnthroPCs) has a "morality" chip...
I don't think that there was any such implication. That was all you (again :wink:).
Addendum:
Seeing as we're all having fun suggesting outlandish theories as to the secret, I will run with: "Dora is pregnant."
Don't ask me to justify it.
-
Momo doesn't have a morality chip, but she does have a social protocol database.
-
Yeah. Tai lives in a dorm, right? How far can it be?
But Dora walked her home to a house... likely that it's the one the house party was at, as someone had suggested before.
-
"Do your pigtails detach?"
;w; Do I detect an Azumanga Daioh reference?
-
"Do your pigtails detach?"
;w; Do I detect an Azumanga Daioh reference?
I don't get the cake arm roll reference. Anpanman?
-
Now I'm getting a nagging memory of a passing mention of morality programming in AnthroPCs but can't find the reference. Can an Archive Master help me?
-
Did...did Emily pull an Osaka?
Momo does resemble Chiyo in mannerism and stance, though...
-
"What the fuck is a clock?"
-
I don't get the cake arm roll reference. Anpanman?
The roll cake is a Nichijou reference. The robot in question also has a wind-key that causes her toe to shoot across the room. :psyduck:
-
Not gonna lie, Emily just seems like Padma 2.0.
-
I'm beginning to like these Library Assistants
-
I don't get the cake arm roll reference. Anpanman?
The roll cake is a Nichijou reference. The robot in question also has a wind-key that causes her toe to shoot across the room. :psyduck:
It doesn't make sense that she can make those references without know what "anime" is. It would make sense if it were one popular anime that air on TV but Azumanga Daioh and Nichijou aren't that famous to people outside of otaku culture are they? Where they aired on Canada? Was she just messing with Momo or some crazy explanation is to come?
-
I don't get the cake arm roll reference. Anpanman?
The roll cake is a Nichijou reference. The robot in question also has a wind-key that causes her toe to shoot across the room. :psyduck:
It doesn't make sense that she can make those references without know what "anime" is. It would make sense if it were one popular anime that air on TV but Azumanga Daioh and Nichijou aren't that famous to people outside of otaku culture are they? Where they aired on Canada? Was she just messing with Momo or some crazy explanation is to come?
She hates being associated as an otaku due to it's negative connotations? Or since she is asian (She looks Chinese/Vietnamese), the terminology isn't forthcoming?
I don't get the cake arm roll reference. Anpanman?
The roll cake is a Nichijou reference. The robot in question also has a wind-key that causes her toe to shoot across the room. :psyduck:
How dare you not even acknowledge Anpanman!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9orKvKgZs4)
-
I don't get the cake arm roll reference. Anpanman?
The roll cake is a Nichijou reference. The robot in question also has a wind-key that causes her toe to shoot across the room. :psyduck:
It doesn't make sense that she can make those references without know what "anime" is. It would make sense if it were one popular anime that air on TV but Azumanga Daioh and Nichijou aren't that famous to people outside of otaku culture are they? Where they aired on Canada? Was she just messing with Momo or some crazy explanation is to come?
She hates being associated as an otaku due to it's negative connotations? Or since she is asian (She looks Chinese/Vietnamese), the terminology isn't forthcoming?
What I mean is that the only way for her not know what anime is is by being totally oblivious of otaku culture so she only know about animes that she see on TV and not actively get them. Since Azumanga and Nichijou aren't ultra popular shows with mass producted episodes like Dragonball it is unlikely that she would know them without knowing what anime is.
-
It doesn't make sense that she can make those references without know what "anime" is. It would make sense if it were one popular anime that air on TV but Azumanga Daioh and Nichijou aren't that famous to people outside of otaku culture are they? Where they aired on Canada? Was she just messing with Momo or some crazy explanation is to come?
I think she's just having crazy ideas about robots, and they just "happen to be references". 4th wall-ey kinda gag. As T mentioned, Nichijou is a very recent series that would probably not be known by many people who aren't following the scene.
And I'm not sure where Anpanman comes into the equation, especially not from referencing that episode.
-
It doesn't make sense that she can make those references without know what "anime" is. It would make sense if it were one popular anime that air on TV but Azumanga Daioh and Nichijou aren't that famous to people outside of otaku culture are they? Where they aired on Canada? Was she just messing with Momo or some crazy explanation is to come?
I think she's just having crazy ideas about robots, and they just "happen to be references". 4th wall-ey kinda gag. As T mentioned, Nichijou is a very recent series that would probably not be known by many people who aren't following the scene.
And I'm not sure where Anpanman comes into the equation, especially not from referencing that episode.
That would be the "crazy explanation" some sort of quantic coincidence!
-
Emily seems to share some obliviousness with Padma, but is far quirkier.
Banana smoothie.
-
"Do your pigtails detach?"
;w; Do I detect an Azumanga Daioh reference?
Curiously I happened to watch that particular episode while waiting for my servers to reboot the other night.
Who are the cameos in panel 3?
-
If Emily's Padma 2.0, then I quite like the improvements! Padma was just blunt - likable, don't get me wrong, but not amusingly quirky. I liked Emily better when she specifically wanted a hammer-smashed banana smoothie (not gonna lie, I might also make that order) than when she randomly decided robot = cake-holder, but now that I put it that way, I think she's cool again. I want a cake dispenser robot.
I also want Emily to grow into a complete quirky person, and odds are she will since this is QC, but even if she were to end up as just another resident Cloudcuckoolander popping in a funky punchline every so often, I think I'd be cool with that, too.
-
Also, I love that Emily has frizz from the humidity. It's the kind of detail that makes a world more real.
Why has no one complimented Gabby's hair instead of just saying it looks different? Looks like she's got a nice cute curly 'fro goin' on!
-
For comic #2238...
1. Loved the anime/manga references, though Dune references still are my topmost favorite.
2. Also like that Marten's "walk-along" supporting cast has been expanded. It will be interesting to see how he does with each librarian intern girl individually.
(and for our not-as-anime-fluent forum cast...)
3. Panel #2: Azumanga Daioh - Chiyo's detachable pigtails (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxlC_9zBnDM)
4. Panel #3: Nichijou - Nano's roll-cake arm (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-v03NPBFVE)
-
Has anyone considered that Emily might well be familiar with "cartoons from home" thanks to her parents wishing to raise her in two cultures, but has simply never heard them referred to in English using that particular French loan word?
-
She's a computer science major- a female, asian-american computer science major. I'm assuming she's just pulling Momo's leg here, because the idea someone has not mentioned anime in her presence before now boggles my teensy little brain something fierce.
-
Oh, but people can be that detached or oblivious.
I only first became really aware of anime about two years ago (after a somewhat offputting brief encounter some years earlier); admittedly I'm not in the most appropriate demographic, but my children and grandchildren are.
-
People are really looking for an in-universe explanation of Emily throwing anime gags and disclaiming any knowledge of anime?
Guys. In saying, "What's 'anime'?" she is pulling a meta-Osaka.
-
Looks like she's got a nice cute curly 'fro goin' on!
Not as cool as Nabeshin's fro. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocPP9krt1UA)
-
That would be the "crazy explanation" some sort of quantic coincidence!
Actually...
(http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/ff352/patrick8505/thatsthejoke.jpg)
As to the Padma 2.0 conjecture... if I see evidence beyond a one-off gag, then I'll believe it.
-
... I'm assuming she's just pulling Momo's leg here ...
That's next. Unless ... TZZZZAP
... the idea someone has not mentioned anime in her presence before now boggles my teensy little brain something fierce.
Unless she hangs around with people who are not anime nerds enthusiasts. It's not unusual for enthusiasts of a given subculture to assume, wrongly, everyone else is familiar with the details of, or has even heard of, their particular interest. It's kind of a reverse hipsterism: "Psssh! I can't believe you've never heard of (podracing/quidditch/tribbles/roll cake stored in arms)!"
-
There was a relatively recent xkcd comic about this... it claims (and I have idea as to the validity of the claim) that for each thing "everyone knows" by the time they're adults, every day there are, on average, 10,000 people hearing about it for the first time.
I have no idea where they could possibly have got the number from, but the basic idea behind the statement is something I can definitely agree with. The number of times I've heard people exclaim "but doesn't everyone know that?!" ... and I always think "well, you're not born with the knowledge, are you? You've got to hear it for the first time some time... and some things you end up hearing later than others, that's all."
I'm sure I could make a long list if I sat down and thought about it.
As for anime... I personally had never heard the term until I shared a place with a couple of friends who were watching Neon Genesis being screened on SBS television at the time.
And I'll wager I was older than Emily.
So, draw from that what you will.
Don't be so quick to assume that your experiences are universal. ... hmm, I'm sure I've heard that sentiment expressed on these forums more than once before! :)
-
I'm not assuming my experiences are universal, but there is a more than passing correlation of computer science majors and anime enthusiasts.
So for Emily to have never heard of anime, not just not being familiar with it but completely ignorant of the existence of that word, implies that not a single person ever actually said that word to her or to each other when she was paying attention, even when she was taking college classes in a group of people who generally are more open about 'nerdy' hobbies or interests, and who would almost certainly assume her familiarity with those shows (I've seen similar things happen more than once). She'd never seen any page on the internet, in her life, talking about anime using that word, despite being into computer science enough to major in it.
And yet she, out of nowhere, uses what would be two anime references in the appropriate context during a casual conversation without any prompting. If she'd seen those shows, and mentioned them to anyone else who had seen that show, they somehow never actually used that word when talking about it.
This is like the social equivalent of getting hit with a meteorite on your birthday. Technically possible, but wildly improbable. Her simply messing with Momo doesn't require that bizarrely unlikely series of events to have taken place.
-
Yes, the comic subverts expectations. That's the joke.
I'm a computer science major, btw.
Edit: Hey, look - if Emily turns around next comic and says "ha, just messin'", I won't be surprised. As I said, it's a one-off gag. But the alternative is not as impossible as you think, that's all I'm saying.
-
You guys are way over-analyzing this comic.
And it hurts my brain.
:(
-
Emily is weird. I really like Emily.
-
WAY over-analyzing the comic is what we do around here! It's a comic DISCUSSION thread, after all! ;) :psyduck:
-
Sometimes we overanalyze each other's over-analysis!
-
I think I would have the same reaction as Momo to the suggestion that I be used as a battering ram.
"I'm fine thank you Susan."
-
If she'd seen those shows, and mentioned them to anyone else who had seen that show, they somehow never actually used that word when talking about it.
Entirely possible, especially if she'd only seen a few episodes her little brother/cousin/nephew was watching over his shoulder. Also, perhaps she's seen (or heard) the word, but was taking ths opportunity to find out what it really meant...
This is like the social equivalent of getting hit with a meteorite on your birthday. Technically possible, but wildly improbable.
The probability of getting hit with a meteorite on your birthday is exactly the same as getting hit with one on any other day. Don't confuse coincidence with conitional probability (http://xkcd.com/795/)!
-
If she'd seen those shows, and mentioned them to anyone else who had seen that show, they somehow never actually used that word when talking about it.
Entirely possible, especially if she'd only seen a few episodes her little brother/cousin/nephew was watching over his shoulder. Also, perhaps she's seen (or heard) the word, but was taking ths opportunity to find out what it really meant...
This is like the social equivalent of getting hit with a meteorite on your birthday. Technically possible, but wildly improbable.
The probability of getting hit with a meteorite on your birthday is exactly the same as getting hit with one on any other day. Don't confuse coincidence with conitional probability (http://xkcd.com/795/)!
But wouldn't it be a lower probability since it's only that one day out of the whole year? I mean, sure, it's equally probable to get hit by a meteorite on your birthday as on the fourth of July or Easter or any other day, but that's looking at the separate days, not the year as a whole. For you to be hit precisely on your birthday as opposed to any other day in the entire year? That's gotta be improbable.
-
The probability of being struck requires a time period to be meaningful. So, the probability of being struck in your lifetime is much greater than the probability of being struck on a particular day, or selection of days (such as those which are your birthdays).
-
And how about the odds of being struck as you pray to Almighty God for the destruction of your Worst Enemy, or the utter victory of your Favorite Team?
-
The probability of being hit on your birthday is 1/365.24 the probability of being hit in a year. The same as the probability of being hit on the fourth of July, or last Tuesday, or tomorrow.
Disclaimer: The probability actually varies throughout the year as the earth moves through the various meteor showers. I'm workig with classical probability, as opposed to empirical/experimental probability. :police:
When's your birthday? I'll see if I can arrange something for you... :evil:
-
I'm just saying that her messing with Momo's head is by a large margin the more probable explanation. I never said it couldn't be genuine- but if we're going to vegas and taking odds, you all know where I'm standing.
-
Also, I love that Emily Claire has frizz from the humidity. It's the kind of detail that makes a world more real.
FYP
-
The probability of being hit on your birthday is 1/365.24 the probability of being hit in a year. The same as the probability of being hit on the fourth of July, or last Tuesday, or tomorrow.
Well, the probability of being hit by a meteor LAST TUESDAY is a fixed value of either 0 or 1 depending on if you had been hit by meteor last Tuesday.
RE: Emily
I'm a computer science guy and no one I work with, including me, seems to watch Anime. We're all in our 30-40s though so that might affect the results. The person I know most into Anime (learned Japanese to appreciate it better) was an English major (D&D geek).
The thing is not all compsci folks are GEEKS. And it is geek culture and anime that have high correlation (even if I'm not among those so correlated).
-
One thing I know for sure, through all of this:
Geek culture is FUN.
-
You guys are way over-analyzing this comic.
And it hurts my brain.
:(
An absolutely correct observation.
Jeph said once that over-analysis was "stupid" but he didn't really mind because it's kind of what forums are for.
-
You guys are way over-analyzing this comic.
And it hurts my brain.
:(
Yer not from aroun' here, are ya?
-
Jeph pulled trollface.jpg.
It was super-effective.
Read Emily's last line in Osaka's voice. desu desu desu
-
Jeph said once that over-analysis was "stupid" but he didn't really mind because it's kind of what forums are for.
Well yeah, he would, why would he need to analyze his own work?
-
...this is actually harder to believe than a talking robot.
-
You guys are way over-analyzing this comic.
And it hurts my brain.
:(
Yer not from aroun' here, are ya?
I suppose not.
I am Noobzilla, hear me rawr~ :mrgreen:
(I regret everything nothing)
ASDF I should get some sleep before I say something stupid(er).
-
See, in defence of my position, I'd never heard of "roll cake" before sometime last week. Swiss rolls were, however, one of my favourite desserts growing up.
-
They aren't the same thing?
-
They are, as was mentioned (http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,28128.msg1092768.html#msg1092768) a couple of weeks ago when Nano appeared in a filler comic (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2225).
-
Jeph said once that over-analysis was "stupid" but he didn't really mind because it's kind of what forums are for.
Well yeah, he would, why would he need to analyze his own work?
Financial reasons?
-
Emily's mind works oddly enough that I can imagine her not knowing the word "anime" or temporarily forgetting it, and still knowing who Nano is. ("Oh, so that's what they call it!")
She seems too ingenuous to have said it ironically.
Maybe she didn't recognize the word when it was pronounced correctly? Yeah, I'm reaching here.
-
Also, I love that Emily has frizz from the humidity.
Claire and Gabby. Emily is East Asian; generally we don't do frizzy unless we have a very unfortunate encounter with a hairdresser.
The probability of being hit on your birthday is 1/365.24 the probability of being hit in a year. The same as the probability of being hit on the fourth of July, or last Tuesday, or tomorrow.
And, assuming random distribution of meteors, the probability of being hit on any of all the days in a year that are not your birthday is 364.24/365.24 of the probability of being hit in a year. This padawan hesitates to point this out to a jedi master. I think this is essentially a "two dice" problem, where you roll a 365-sided die with one face marked with a single dot, together with a billion*-sided die with n faces marked in the same way, and really hope you don't roll snake-eyes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_eyes).
*I don't actually know the probability of being struck by a meteor. Edit: Adjusted for Akronnick's post below.
-
NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!
-
Odds of dying by asteroid impact: 1 in 700,000 (http://vimeo.com/22267197)
The overall risk of dying from an impact in your lifetime is 1 in 700,000. Somewhat less than being killed by a fireworks accident, but still more probable than being killed on an amusement park ride or by an act of terrorism.
-
There's a reason they call it the WCOAT.
... oh, they don't call it that? They should. It's pronounceable, and everything. Sort of.
-
Wow. Did not expect an Azumanga AND Nichijou reference in one comic. (BTW, this is wednesday's that I'm referring to)
In the interest of showing off some anime knowledge, I should mention that there should, under no circumstances, be any Chobits references without Tai, Ghost in the Shell references without Faye, or ...*shudder* Black Cat references without Pintsize
-
Wow. Did not expect an Azumanga AND Nichijou reference in one comic. (BTW, this is wednesday's that I'm referring to)
In the interest of showing off some anime knowledge, I should mention that there should, under no circumstances, be any Chobits references without Tai, Ghost in the Shell references without Faye, or ...*shudder* Black Cat references without Pintsize
As someone who knows nothing about anime, I have a feeling I don't want to know about Black Cat.
-
...what the hell does Faye have to do with Ghost in the Shell?
If anything, I'd have gone with Dora just for the purple hair... or Momo, for staggeringly obvious reasons.
-
I remember the roll of duct tape!! It was in strip.....strip.....uh........
-
You know, Faye being Faye is one thing, but Marten really is being astoundingly creepy about all this.
-
That isn't gagging, Marten, thats pretty much assault. °O
(Wouldn't wanna rip that one off, no sir.)
-
1654.
Is Marten being creepy in context? The characters don't seem to have the concept of "boundaries" the way other people do.
-
I thought that Faye liked being the Dom?
<< ducks for cover
-
Why do all Coffee of Doom employees have identical handwriting?
-
Jeph might know...
-
I can't actually blame Marten for drawing the conclusion he did.
Faye writes awfully fast, hey? :)
For some reason I'm finding the running hair gag is starting to get hilarious.
-
Well, that's a good use of The Emergency Duct Tape
It's gonna be interesting to see which way Dora jumps on this one
And what Tai does
-
Is Marten being creepy in context? The characters don't seem to have the concept of "boundaries" the way other people do.
If comic characters have boundaries, they are far less entertaining for the audience.
(and I mean "comic" in both senses of the word)
-
What's with people calling Marten creepy? I don't see anything creepy there.
I mean, it's not like shipping on a forum - it really isn't!
-
I think I would have the same reaction as Momo to the suggestion that I be used as a battering ram.
"I'm fine thank you Susan."
+1000 internets. Best sci-fi spoof show ever.
I chuckled at the last panel of today's comic. Faye, why you so awesome?
-
You know, Faye being Faye is one thing, but Marten really is being astoundingly creepy about all this.
Um... what ? No ? He isnt ?!?
What's with people calling Marten creepy? I don't see anything creepy there.
+1
He might not really thinking before speaking, but its early morning.
-
I'm actually more amused at this because Dora frequently harassed Faye on similar fronts before, while Dora is the boss it is interesting to see her reaction to this.
-
I'm actually more amused at this because Dora frequently harassed Faye on similar fronts before, while Dora is the boss it is interesting to see her reaction to this.
Guessing Dora can't cope with what she can dish out wantonly.
-
Duct tape - is there anything you can't do?
-
Duct tape - is there anything you can't do?
"Yes, Mr. Reiver... love." :cry:
-
Also, I love that Emily Claire has frizz from the humidity. It's the kind of detail that makes a world more real.
FYP
D'OH! Thank you, Omega. I guess my brain got stuck on the first name I typed? It was quite late when I logged on last.
-
Faye, people are going to say you are rude, and you are , but shit like this is why I love you. <3
Also poor Gabby. Wonder how many people have been on her case about the hair?
-
I think Dora's comments like, "Losing blackboard privileges" is her way of giving back what she's getting. It's the dynamic of their friendship and I think it's really fun to watch.
I think I would have the same reaction as Momo to the suggestion that I be used as a battering ram.
"I'm fine thank you Susan."
It's been ages since I've watched Red Dwarf. Need to fix that.
-
...what the hell does Faye have to do with Ghost in the Shell?
If anything, I'd have gone with Dora just for the purple hair... or Momo, for staggeringly obvious reasons.
I'd just thought Faye would be the most appreciative of a cybernetic girl with deep underlying issues who's job is to specifically kick ass and kill people in various ways... actually, I could have used Gunslinger girl as an example as well.
Wow. Did not expect an Azumanga AND Nichijou reference in one comic. (BTW, this is wednesday's that I'm referring to)
In the interest of showing off some anime knowledge, I should mention that there should, under no circumstances, be any Chobits references without Tai, Ghost in the Shell references without Faye, or ...*shudder* Black Cat references without Pintsize
As someone who knows nothing about anime, I have a feeling I don't want to know about Black Cat.
... Cybernetic bioweapon named Eve, but more specifically, the ability to alter her physical makeup to create weapons and wreak havok. Considering how smaller AnthroPC's bodies apparently work (See the finger-patch comics), it'd be alarming (read: hilarious) if Pintsize took any reference to it as ... inspiration.
-
I remember the roll of duct tape!! It was in strip.....strip.....uh........
1654.
(EDIT: Ninja'd.)
-
Even as I write this certain folks are probably getting fanart ideas from that tape. Coming soon to a Deviantart account near you....
-
Fanart of Faye and Pintsize in a fight against Dora and the Mighty Roll of Duct Tape?
If I could draw, I would draw the hell out of that.
...
What do you mean that's not what you meant? :P
-
Fanart of Faye and Pintsize in a fight against Dora and the Mighty Roll of Duct Tape?
If I could draw, I would draw the hell out of that.
...
What do you mean that's not what you meant? :P
Regardless, it can happen anyway. Consider it a grudge match, since both have lost to duct tape before. (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=310)
-
Is this a thing? I mean, gagging Faye?
Not in a Rule 34 kind of way, either. Hanners was pretty quick on the draw once...
-
2054.
-
OK, 1654, 2054, 2239, 2209?
\ / \ / \ /
400 185 -30
\ /\ /
-215 -215
Based on this pattern, we should see Faye gagged... about 30 comics ago.
Oh, look. Maybe she should have been! (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2209)
(are there any other instances I'm missing?)
-
Well, in the one right after the one you cite, she could have pulled off the gag while gagged.
-
Duct tape - is there anything you can't do?
(http://interactive.wxxi.org/files/images/highlights/RedGreen_0.jpg)
-
Based on this pattern, we should see Faye gagged... about 30 comics ago.
It can also mean that the frequency of Faye getting gagged is increasing by about 2.162... every time, which means the next one is in 86 strips(#2325) but it would also mean in 160 strips every strip becomes a Faye gets gagged strip.
-
Based on this pattern, we should see Faye gagged... about 30 comics ago.
It can also mean that the frequency of Faye getting gagged is increasing by about 2.162... every time, which means the next one is in 86 strips(#2325) but it would also mean in 160 strips every strip becomes a Faye gets gagged strip.
I vote for a bitgag (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_gag#Bit) the next time around.
-
So maybe Dora should just put a certain Ludacris song on repeat and just play it all day?
P.S. If you don't know which song I'm talking about, you can look it up yourself. I am ashamed of my knowledge of Ludacris songs as it is.
-
Is duct-taping Faye's mouth just Dora's gag reflex?
-
I am ashamed of my knowledge of Ludacris songs as it is.
You shouldn't be. I enjoy his stuff from a decade or so ago. That being said...what song? I mean, you say google it, but I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be googling. He has a lot of songs.
-
Based on this pattern, we should see Faye gagged... about 30 comics ago.
It can also mean that the frequency of Faye getting gagged is increasing by about 2.162... every time, which means the next one is in 86 strips(#2325) but it would also mean in 160 strips every strip becomes a Faye gets gagged strip.
I vote for a bitgag (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_gag#Bit) the next time around.
I prefer running gags. You know, like "IT"S THE HUMIDITY!"
-
I prefer running gags. You know, like "IT"S THE HUMIDITY!"
*rimshot*
-
I am ashamed of my knowledge of Ludacris songs as it is.
You shouldn't be. I enjoy his stuff from a decade or so ago. That being said...what song? I mean, you say google it, but I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be googling. He has a lot of songs.
Rollout! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t21DFnu00Dc)
-
I don't get how that song applies here :psyduck:
-
You have to watch towards the end when he starts shouting "stay the fuck out of MY BIZNASS"
But the whole song's about how he's pissed because everyone wants a piece of him and they won't leave him alone.
-
Oh. Ok, then.
-
So Hanners doesn't know about invitro fertilization? Sperm/Egg banks? Test Tube Babies? Or is she really saying.......okay, i'll just cut that line of questioning right there. I know where i'm headed and I might get banned for it.
-
Whow. Hanners is just too overly cute today.
Thinking about this, if they have the technology so women can have children with women, we men get kind of superflous.
But then again, who would enjoy the sight of all these women ?
-
Right now, all of that stuff still requires an egg and a sperm. Turning an egg into a sperm for the purpose of fertilization is still in the future, what little experimental success we've had isn't transferable to humans.
Basically, Dora and Tai could have babies, but it wouldn't be a combination of their genes, and therefore Hanner's talk about their babies would require new technology.
-
As long as they stop at a reasonable number (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2139).
-
REASONABLE NUMBER OF LADYBABIES!
Also, who is 'we' in the last panel? Hanners and Station? :psyduck:
-
Humanity as a whole? Plus Station, I guess.
-
Or her dad and company in particular. There have been hints that Hannelore is a genetic engineering experiment.
-
Right now, all of that stuff still requires an egg and a sperm. Turning an egg into a sperm for the purpose of fertilization is still in the future, what little experimental success we've had isn't transferable to humans.
Basically, Dora and Tai could have babies, but it wouldn't be a combination of their genes, and therefore Hanner's talk about their babies would require new technology.
They have sentient AI. I'm pretty sure QC is set far enough in the future that that kind of technology isn't too far off.
-
Thinking about this, if they have the technology so women can have children with women, we men get kind of superflous.
Men are a mystery biologically. A species can perpetuate itself better if it doesn't have half its members incapable of bearing children. There is speculation about why males exist but nothing definitive.
-
Eusocial organisms have only a single member of a large group capable of bearing children. They're doing just fine. Ants are one of the most successful species on the planet, and the majority of the members of each colony will never take a direct role in reproduction. And besides, perpetuating the species is not solely a function of having as many children as possible- with larger organisms especially, each offspring takes a lot of care and a large amount of resources to bring to child bearing age. The females of these species are already capable of bearing more children than the community and it's environment can support even without the males.
If you're talking about why sexual reproduction occurs, as opposed to parthogenesis, it's pretty clear that the genetic shuffling that occurs introduces greater genetic variability into a species. Which makes it more likely that under changing conditions the species as a whole will survive. Bacteria can do this sort of genetic shuffling without sex, but their method of doing so is if not impossible, at least highly impractical for multicellular organisms like us.
-
They have sentient AI. I'm pretty sure QC is set far enough in the future that that kind of technology isn't too far off.
Not so much "set in the future", but certain technologies (AnthroPC's, human-habitable and comfortable space stations, hologram AIs etc) sure as hell are more advanced than what we got here (DARPA included (probably)).
Hannelore might be being a tad optimistic (and more than a bit creepy...), but Marten does raise some good points. Tai's all for it, and Dora in her current state is not being satisfied on an emotional level. But equally, she needs to be sure that this is what she wants. Don't just jump on it (like she did Marten), but be certain that this is what she needs in her life.
As much as we want things to happen, I can tell this will be a long time coming...
-
Also good luck hunting those mammoths, ladies.
/guy mode
Marten is right. It is common to react with interest if someone reasonably attractive is attracted to you. It is unwise to act on it if there is a high probability that things will get messed up. Sooo Tora is not gonna happen.
-
Hannelore strikes me as the type of person to steal a sample of martin's hair, disappear for 9 months, and then show up with a baby.
-
Or his blood. (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1607)
-
Duct tape - is there anything you can't do?
(http://interactive.wxxi.org/files/images/highlights/RedGreen_0.jpg)
If your wife doesn't find you handsome, she should at least find you handy. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice.
-
Okay, that last panel creeped me out a bit. without the connecting speech balloon branch, that sounded like a voice from above. Like Station was monitoring the conversation and decided to interject.
-
Okay, that last panel creeped me out a bit. without the connecting speech balloon branch, that sounded like a voice from above. Like Station was monitoring the conversation and decided to interject.
Dang, I like that idea.
-
All you need to make your offspring is to combine the nucleii of two eggs. I don't know if injecting on egg nucleus into another will kickstart it into fetal growth; it might need sperm touching its outer cellular wall to start the chemical changes that commence the process. It might be a process of penetrating the host nucleus as well and combining the two, or, one could remove a nucleus from EACH donor, combine them, and inject the result into another egg that has had its nucleus cleared.
Or, if you remove the nucleus from one egg and inject it into a similarly cleared sperm, then fertilize another egg with it, that might be easiest - however the nucleus of the egg might be too large for the sperm cell; I don't recall their relative sizes.
Another possibility would be to inject one egg nucleus into another egg, then kickstart it with a sperm cell that had its nucleus removed.
I don't know if this degree of microsurgery exists, for sperm cells are a LOT smaller than eggs.
All in all, I'd be pretty surprised to find out that none of this is currently possible. It might be however, that the failure to success ratio would be so high that it simply isn't done at the present time.
-
I find Dora's body language interesting. She takes what looks like a defensive stance whe she first asks Marten what he thinks - like she wouldn't normally do something like this. In the second panel, it's more fearful - she's already opened up to him in the past, and is now admitting that fact (to herself as much as to him). She's really putting herself on the line by asking what he thinks, an he responds honestly, which is a great relief in the third panel. Interestingly, nothing Marten says is really about Dora, but rather is a reading of the situations, past and present. That may be why she has the relieved appearance, the personality attack she half expected didn't arrive.
... and, based on this, I think her therapy's progressing well. Lucky for her, she asked the nicest guy she knows...
-
You get a donor sperm cell, take out its DNA, replace it with DNA of woman A and put the altered sperm into woman B's egg.
You then get child AB!
It is very difficult and I don't think there has been a great deal of success but it's theoretically possible and I believe it will be a reality in the future.
Alternatively, get a stem cell from woman A and try to make it into a sperm cell. I don't know how possible this one is but knowing us, probably very simple in the future!
I'm surprised Hanners likes babies... they're all sicky and gross and poo!
-
I'm surprised Hanners likes babies... they're all sicky and gross and poo!
But they're cute - and cute trumps everything.
-
...and if they're not yours, the poo is someone else's problem!
-
Yeah, Hannelore likes cats, and unlike children they don't eventually learn to control their potential ickyness.
If the comic lasts long enough, or Jeph speeds things up enough, for any of the characters to have kids I'm sure we'll get to see a Hannelore freakout when she experiences first hand the messy things babies can do. Or worse yet, toddlers, who can do things like draw pictures on the wall with permanent markers.
-
Fertilize an egg from mother A and remove the nucleus. Replace it with a nucleus from Mother B.
The offspring would have the nuclear DNA of B and the mitochondrial DNA of Mother A.
(probably would not be ethical to use that procedure on a human subject, especially when there are so many ways for same-sex couples to become parents that don't require ethically skeezy in-vitro jiggery pokery)
-
It's good that Marten and Dora are friends now, but I'm just sobbing over here that they're not together.
-
...yeah I don't know why I peeked in here and expected to see anything except long pontificating spiels on how two girls could have babies in the real world and lots of flashing of Internet Science Credentials :psyduck:
(I say this without hostility, though, don't be mad bros)
anyhow I love it when Hannelore gets all shippy, it's adorable
I want to see an Emily-Hannelore spinoff team up adventure, Jeph plz make it happen
-
Normally I am pretty anti-baby, even though my late wife and I discussed options for the possibility sometime down the road (sadly we never got the chance), however even with my anti-baby tendencies I kind of agree with Hanners here. Tai and Dora would make cute genetic combinations.
-
Heh. They actually did this with mice, but it needs two generations and a genetic capacity humans just don't have (fertile XX males) to pull off.
-
*sigh*
The Questionables, ever ready to jump into the breach when thrown a cue like "WE ARE WORKING ON THAT TECHNOLOGY"
-
Of course, the most logical explanation would be for both of them to have surrogate fathers.
Or the same one, of course...
-
I'm surprised this universe doesn't have it already.
-
In the QCVerse, this is, in fact, handled by copy machines.
Which is why Natasha got into trouble, way back when.
-
They have sentient AI. I'm pretty sure QC is set far enough in the future that that kind of technology isn't too far off.
Not so much "set in the future", but certain technologies (AnthroPC's, human-habitable and comfortable space stations, hologram AIs etc) sure as hell are more advanced than what we got here (DARPA included (probably)).
Wasn't it stated somewhere that QC operates in our timeline, but as an alternate reality?
-
Of course, the most logical explanation would be for both of them to have surrogate fathers.
And then, after they've had a child each (hopefully of opposite genders), breed their offspring together, so their genes can at last be pooled to create Tai/Dora adorableness.
Technically, it's not incest.
-
Men are a mystery biologically. A species can perpetuate itself better if it doesn't have half its members incapable of bearing children. There is speculation about why males exist but nothing definitive.
Wow, where'd you get that idea? Between the advantages of sexual versus asexual reproduction, and selection pressure on individuals that are specialized toward reproduction as a single sex, I'd say the reasons are obvious.
-
So the technology nearly exists where two women can have a baby without any male help. It would be safe to assume then that the technology to be able to choose your child's sex before birth would be feasible. If both of those technologies existed at the same time, ... ummm ... hold on, I think I feel a new cracked conspiracy theory arising...
-
Yeah, but a considerable majority of humanity is heterosexual, wouldn't a one-sex species be problematic?
-
Actually, if both parents are female, so is the offspring. No Y-chromosome forthcoming.
-
It would be safe to assume then that the technology to be able to choose your child's sex before birth would be feasible.
Well, that part is piss easy. All you need to do is put the zygote under the microscope and identify the chromosomes. I'm pretty sure every IVF treatment done in the last decade already had that opportunity; I don't know if they take it, or if it's legal to do so.
-
Is there any good reason for it to be illegal?
-
Imagine China's one-child policy, and the effects it's had on the population - male children are preferred in that particular society. Now the male-to-female ratio is all out of whack. Just imagine how it would be in similar societies, if gender could be chosen at conception.
-
Good point. Also, if gender can be controlled through IVF, I wonder what else can be decided at that stage.
-
Of course, the most logical explanation would be for both of them to have surrogate fathers.
And then, after they've had a child each (hopefully of opposite genders), breed their offspring together, so their genes can at last be pooled to create Tai/Dora adorableness.
Technically, it's not incest.
Not technicaly, but two kids raised together are going to be subject to the Westermarck effect. The SQUICK factor remains.
Good point. Also, if gender can be controlled through IVF, I wonder what else can be decided at that stage.
I don't know, but I just heard a story on Radio Lab where a scientist had succesfully introduced missing red color receptor cones into the eyes of monkeys that lacked them using a retro virus. (is that the right term?)
He then speculated that it would be possible to introduce cones from other species into humans, possibly giving us vision in the ultra violet range. Also, I didn't realise that only men were color blind. The genes for the color receptors are on the X chromosome. Women have a back up in thier second chromosome, so no woman should be color blind. In fact a very small percentage of women have fourth color receptor beyond the usual three the rest of the human race is getting by on. These women can see colors that no man ever will.
-
Interesting thought
Little Dora and Tai children running around
:D
-
Good point. Also, if gender can be controlled through IVF, I wonder what else can be decided at that stage.
Also, I didn't realise that only men were color blind. The genes for the color receptors are on the X chromosome. Women have a back up in thier second chromosome, so no woman should be color blind. In fact a very small percentage of women have fourth color receptor beyond the usual three the rest of the human race is getting by on. These women can see colors that no man ever will.
Actually, it's possible for women to be colorblind too. It's just a much rarer occurrence since it usually requires the defect on both of the X chromosomes. Now if it were carried only on the Y chromosome, then it'd be exclusively male.
-
Oh gee, something we haven't done for a while: What was the MOMENT OF THE WEEK?
Marty and Faye got into a bottle of schnapps under the sink, so that's why for the texts. 0 (0%)
Annnyway.... NO, I didn't make out with Tai. 0 (0%)
Too friendcestuous? ...I don't know. I never really thought about it. 0 (0%)
I've seen you check out her ass. Hey, be fair! I check out TONS of asses! 4 (16%)
Your hair is different! It's the humidity. 0 (0%)
Claire has a latte for Marten! (Kiss-ass) 0 (0%)
Tai called and said she's sleeping in, librarians don't get in for 2 hrs. and I don't have keys. 1 (4%)
We could use Momo as a battering ram! 0 (0%)
Your hair's different today. It's the humidity. 0 (0%)
Do your pigtails detach? Do you store roll cake in your arms? 1 (4%)
If you like anime that much, I should introduce you to my friend Marigold. 0 (0%)
Um, what's "anime?" 1 (4%)
Your hair is differ- HUMIDITY 1 (4%)
Oh hey, you're here. Why wouldn't I be? 0 (0%)
I DID NOT HOOK UP WITH TAI! (Everybody being all up in my business isn't helping) 0 (0%)
Duct Tape! (I bet you wanna get all up in TAI'S business) 3 (12%)
She's also about to have her blackboard privileges revoked. 0 (0%)
So... What do you think? ... you know me better than anybody else. 1 (4%)
She's the one who's pursuing you... seems like a good setup for avoiding what messed up OUR relationship. 0 (0%)
If you're just considering it because she's shown interest in you, that's not really fair to her. 1 (4%)
BUT think how cute your babies would be! (We're both female, we can't -) WE ARE WORKING ON THAT TECHNOLOGY 12 (48%)
Total Members Voted: 25
-
A monogendered sexually reproducing species exist. Worms are simultaneously hermaphrodtic, they can both impregnate and be impregnated. Then there are sequential hermaphrodites, species that can change sexes, some of them multiple times.
There is a science fiction book by Usula Le Guin called "The Left Hand of Darkness" that deals with a planet inhabited by a humanoid species that are sequential hemaphrodites who go through regular cycles of sex change but spend most of their time neuter with no sexual expression at all, only expressing as male or female a few days per month.
-
If you're talking about why sexual reproduction occurs, as opposed to parthogenesis, it's pretty clear that the genetic shuffling that occurs introduces greater genetic variability into a species. Which makes it more likely that under changing conditions the species as a whole will survive. Bacteria can do this sort of genetic shuffling without sex, but their method of doing so is if not impossible, at least highly impractical for multicellular organisms like us.
That doesn't explain why mammals aren't hermaphrodites, with all members capable of both impregnating and *being* impregnated!
All you need to make your offspring is to combine the nucleii of two eggs. I don't know if injecting on egg nucleus into another will kickstart it into fetal growth; it might need sperm touching its outer cellular wall to start the chemical changes that commence the process. It might be a process of penetrating the host nucleus as well and combining the two, or, one could remove a nucleus from EACH donor, combine them, and inject the result into another egg that has had its nucleus cleared.
Or, if you remove the nucleus from one egg and inject it into a similarly cleared sperm, then fertilize another egg with it, that might be easiest - however the nucleus of the egg might be too large for the sperm cell; I don't recall their relative sizes.
Another possibility would be to inject one egg nucleus into another egg, then kickstart it with a sperm cell that had its nucleus removed.
I don't know if this degree of microsurgery exists, for sperm cells are a LOT smaller than eggs.
All in all, I'd be pretty surprised to find out that none of this is currently possible. It might be however, that the failure to success ratio would be so high that it simply isn't done at the present time.
It's more complicated than that. In sperm, various genes are activated to make the children grow big and healthy while still in the womb. Eggs, OTOH, activate *contrary* genes to keep the foetus small and thus not such a big strain on the mother during pregnancy & childbirth.
Simply fusing the nuclei of two eggs would thus end up with two doses of "small" and no "big", leading to an unviable foetus.
-
If you're talking about why sexual reproduction occurs, as opposed to parthogenesis, it's pretty clear that the genetic shuffling that occurs introduces greater genetic variability into a species. Which makes it more likely that under changing conditions the species as a whole will survive. Bacteria can do this sort of genetic shuffling without sex, but their method of doing so is if not impossible, at least highly impractical for multicellular organisms like us.
That doesn't explain why mammals aren't hermaphrodites, with all members capable of both impregnating and *being* impregnated!
No, but the fact that our lineage is predominantly non-hermaphroditic explains that very easily. It's still possible for hermaphroditism to appear as a mutation, but unless that mutation is also compatible with existing reproduction of the species, it will die off that generation. And beyond that, it would only become dominant if it was positively affecting the survival of the species- I went into why that isn't necessarily the case earlier on in the post you quoted.
Humans, especially, would be negatively affected by being hermaphrodites. Tribal societies use various methods to decrease the amount of children they have so that they don't outstrip their resources. The maximum number of children you can raise to adulthood is far fewer than the maximum number that can be born even with half the tribe not producing them. Furthermore, unlike most animals, pregnant humans are less able to hunt, travel large distances, outrun predators, or fight those predators or another tribe, in addition to the high possibility of dying in childbirth. If mammals were hermaphroditic by default, it would be hard to see how humanity as we know it could have ever come about. It's already kind of shocking we made it to the tool-using phase as things are.
-
Simply fusing the nuclei of two eggs would thus end up with two doses of "small" and no "big", leading to an unviable unbelievably cute foetus.
FTFY.
-
I think that Marten gave some pretty solid advice there. Cautionary, but not too cautionary. And they both now seem to be approaching it from the frame of mind that Tai said what she said because she meant it and not because she was drunk, which to me is a step forward!
-
That doesn't explain why mammals aren't hermaphrodites, with all members capable of both impregnating and *being* impregnated!
No, but the fact that our lineage is predominantly non-hermaphroditic explains that very easily. It's still possible for hermaphroditism to appear as a mutation, but unless that mutation is also compatible with existing reproduction of the species, it will die off that generation. And beyond that, it would only become dominant if it was positively affecting the survival of the species- I went into why that isn't necessarily the case earlier on in the post you quoted.
Humans, especially, would be negatively affected by being hermaphrodites. Tribal societies use various methods to decrease the amount of children they have so that they don't outstrip their resources. The maximum number of children you can raise to adulthood is far fewer than the maximum number that can be born even with half the tribe not producing them. Furthermore, unlike most animals, pregnant humans are less able to hunt, travel large distances, outrun predators, or fight those predators or another tribe, in addition to the high possibility of dying in childbirth. If mammals were hermaphroditic by default, it would be hard to see how humanity as we know it could have ever come about. It's already kind of shocking we made it to the tool-using phase as things are.
Unfortunately, that logic is completely backwards! If you want to answer the question why humans aren't hermaphrodites, then of course you can come up with many, many problems that would arise if early mammals became hermaphroditic at some point during the last few million years, because we never evolved that way! The split between sexual dimorphism and hermaphrodism was never present in mammals, for that you'd have to look at vertebrates in general. The clownfish is a vertebrate that's a sequential hermaphrodite.
So the better question is, why didn't mammals evolve to be hermaphroditic in the first place? I think the easiest explanation is that specialized sexes are better able to fulfill their role in reproduction than hermaphrodites, which are trying to do both at the same time. Apparently, the advantage gained by specializing your reproductive organs to one task is bigger than the disadvantage of only having half of all individuals capable of producing children, among other advantages and disadvantages.
-
You get a donor sperm cell, take out its DNA, replace it with DNA of woman A and put the altered sperm into woman B's egg.
You then get child AB!
And has either been proposed properly or already done. I remember listening to discussion about that very technology. I'm looking for the link now.
{edit} I was wrong:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9421000/9421816.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16627043
-
Oh gee, something we haven't done for a while: What was the MOMENT OF THE WEEK?
I've seen you check out her ass. Hey, be fair! I check out TONS of asses! 4 (13.8%)
Tai called and said she's sleeping in, librarians don't get in for 2 hrs. and I don't have keys. 1 (3.4%)
Do your pigtails detach? Do you store roll cake in your arms? 2 (6.9%)
If you like anime that much, I should introduce you to my friend Marigold. 1 (3.4%)
Um, what's "anime?" 1 (3.4%)
Your hair is differ- HUMIDITY 1 (3.4%)
Duct Tape! (I bet you wanna get all up in TAI'S business) 4 (13.8%)
So... What do you think? ... you know me better than anybody else. 2 (6.9%)
If you're just considering it because she's shown interest in you, that's not really fair to her. 1 (3.4%)
BUT think how cute your babies would be! (We're both female, we can't -) WE ARE WORKING ON THAT TECHNOLOGY 12 (41.4%)
Total Members Voted: 29
-
Hi, I don't post here often (ever) but the situation in Friday's comic was kind of off-putting for me. I think by now, as an audience, we've accepted the fact that there is no tension between Dora and Marten, but my question is why. They had that one scene at the Tai's party where they sort of hashed things out, but it seemed so artificial at the time. Now Marten is playing big brother to Dora, giving her girl advice and playfully prodding her about new advances from other people?
I think that there are a couple of reasons why they might be at this stage of relationship by now, but there's something not so right about it. In the timeline of the comic, it doesn't feel like more than a few months have passed, if more have passed then maybe it makes more sense. What I can only guess would be probable is if by the time the two of them had broken up they had already moved on emotionally, because there's absolutely no tension between them. Their breakup was so chaotic that I'm no so sure about this explanation. I also considered that the two of them are overcompensating for their history by being overly chummy, but if that were the case I think it would be more obvious.
I don't get it. It's like they've completely forgotten about the last.. year? How long were they together anyway? I feel as though I am forced to suspend my beliefs in order to accept the way that they act towards each other. Thoughts?
Tai and Dora would make cute babies though!
-
Hi, I don't post here often (ever) but the situation in Friday's comic was kind of off-putting for me. I think by now, as an audience, we've accepted the fact that there is no tension between Dora and Marten, but my question is why. They had that one scene at the Tai's party where they sort of hashed things out, but it seemed so artificial at the time. Now Marten is playing big brother to Dora, giving her girl advice and playfully prodding her about new advances from other people?
I think that there are a couple of reasons why they might be at this stage of relationship by now, but there's something not so right about it. In the timeline of the comic, it doesn't feel like more than a few months have passed, if more have passed then maybe it makes more sense. What I can only guess would be probable is if by the time the two of them had broken up they had already moved on emotionally, because there's absolutely no tension between them. Their breakup was so chaotic that I'm no so sure about this explanation. I also considered that the two of them are overcompensating for their history by being overly chummy, but if that were the case I think it would be more obvious.
I don't get it. It's like they've completely forgotten about the last.. year? How long were they together anyway? I feel as though I am forced to suspend my beliefs in order to accept the way that they act towards each other. Thoughts?
Tai and Dora would make cute babies though!
I think the point is that they're both doing their best to move on, and have at least experimented with relationships since break up, with Padma and Jim. (Jim? I think it's Jim, sorry, I forget). But especially if you look at how Dora is in this last comic, when she asks Marten for advice she's actually protecting herself, she knows she's vulnerable and is taking a step out there. I think that it's established this is new territory for the both of them, and they're both trying to move on and be mature about the whole thing.
Ew, babies.
-
The answer is simple and depressing: men are "meant" to be butchered or ostracized en masse, leading to advantages spreading more quickly among populations.
-
Dora and Marten had a pretty good friendship before the relationship, and it's only some breakups that destroy friendships.
-
REASONABLE NUMBER OF LADYBABIES!
Also, who is 'we' in the last panel? Hanners and Station? :psyduck:
I was kinda wondering about that. The expression Hanners has in the panel doesn't quite match with the text bubble. You'd expect her to angrily react to the comment made by Dora.
-
REASONABLE NUMBER OF LADYBABIES!
Also, who is 'we' in the last panel? Hanners and Station? :psyduck:
I was kinda wondering about that. The expression Hanners has in the panel doesn't quite match with the text bubble. You'd expect her to angrily react to the comment made by Dora.
Uhhh ... why?
-
I heard that in Pure Happy Hannervoice, not Angry Hannervoice.
-
I think he may have meant "aggressive" instead of angry. Hanners is drawn in her "EEEEEEEEEEEE" pose, but her second bubble invokes the image of her "Shaking someone and yelling at them, then going to disinfect herself later" pose (I.E: Panel 3b here (http://questionablecontent.net./view.php?comic=2140))
-
REASONABLE NUMBER OF LADYBABIES!
Also, who is 'we' in the last panel? Hanners and Station? :psyduck:
I was kinda wondering about that. The expression Hanners has in the panel doesn't quite match with the text bubble. You'd expect her to angrily react to the comment made by Dora.
Uhhh ... why?
Her first text bubble matches her facial expression. She's ridiculously excited that Dora and Tai could have babies. Dora says something in the negative, and the next text bubble is in bold caps, as if the person is reacting to the negative comment. Which doesn't quite match Hanners facial expressions in the panel.
-
I saw it as more of an excited all-caps response. Like she's super excited to be announcing that the ability is in the works, and that it's relevant.
As for the 'we', I assume she's including herself with the scientists and such on the station.
-
Same here. Her determination in the "reasonable number of babies" quest is overwhelming (at least when it pertains to other people), of course she'd be super excited if she knew that she can help same-sex couples achieve that goal.
I would also say that her "we" in the last panel, would also mean herself and the scientists in space (there is no clear objective on what scientific studies are being performed there, but chances are that biologists and geneticists would have found a place there (biological effects of living in space and other genetic studies is just as important as the astronomy, physics, quantum studies, chemistry and all that)).
-
I saw it as more of an excited all-caps response. Like she's super excited to be announcing that the ability is in the works, and that it's relevant.
Me and the girlfriend acted it out taking the role of Hanners each, and we came to the agreement that the last speech bubble doesn't match Hanners facial expression at that moment. Tried as we might to pass it off as spontaneous banter, we came to the conclusion that for someone to say it out loud means there has to be some anger in the facial expression and tone of voice to do it.
-
Tried as we might to pass it off as spontaneous banter, we came to the conclusion that for someone to say it out loud means there has to be some anger in the facial expression and tone of voice to do it.
Um, not really.
Hanners was speaking forcefully. That's clear from the bolded text and the fact that she interrupted Dora.
But forceful =/= angry. In fact, anger makes absolutely no sense in the context of the conversation. She has no reason to be angry.
Sorry, but just because it looks weird to you, that doesn't mean there's something wrong with it :/
-
Ditto, she's crazed and upbeat, which makes perfect sense with yelling.
-
YELLING (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2055)
-
It's funny, I envisioned her eyes squeezing shut for a moment as those wors escaped, then reopening with the excited look still in place.
-
"Crazed and upbeat": could not have put it better.
-
Or her dad and company in particular. There have been hints that Hannelore is a genetic engineering experiment.
We are the Hannelorg... I imagine that last bubble in the spooky flanged Borg voice.
-
Or her dad and company in particular. There have been hints that Hannelore is a genetic engineering experiment.
We are the Hannelorg... I imagine that last bubble in the spooky flanged Borg voice.
With a little squeakiness thrown in.
"We are the Hanneborg. A reasonable amount of your cultural uniqueness will be assimilated into our collective RIGHT THIS MINUTE because we are SICK OF YOUR S**T!"
-
Bwahaha. I love Emily now.
Emily is quickly becoming my favorite character. It all started with "Banana Smoothie"
-
She's like a pure source of QC-style wackiness. The Platonic ideal of a QC character.