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Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: mustang6172 on 21 Feb 2016, 20:47

Title: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: mustang6172 on 21 Feb 2016, 20:47
We can do all of those options through the power of a montage.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Squiddlywinx on 21 Feb 2016, 20:55
Hmmmmm?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: mustang6172 on 21 Feb 2016, 21:11
Ah, we're going the robosexual route.  Sometimes I wonder if QC was created by an intelligent force that reads our thoughts.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Penquin47 on 21 Feb 2016, 21:13
Fourteen is definitely old enough to know about smooching.  That would put her 8th or 9th grade, and a LOT of kids her age are dating and doing a lot more than smooching, so I'm pretty sure if Momo admits that yes, she's thought about smooching a human, Jim's not gonna be mad.

Anything more than that and she should probably check with Jim, though.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: mustang6172 on 21 Feb 2016, 21:21
Come to think of it, Sam's probably had a few sex ed classes.  Plus, there is a computer (not referring to Momo) in her room.  Even with a porn blocker, there's more than a few Wikipedia articles about human sexuality that could be read.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Mmeaninglessnamee on 21 Feb 2016, 21:24
The ship that was chartered thousands of strips ago may still one day sail (squeeeeee)

I completely agree with Momo being hesitant to talk to someone else's child about sexuality though, it could end up problematic in many ways. But then again searching the wild wild web for information would probably be much worse.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Somebody on 21 Feb 2016, 21:58
...am I forgetting something? Why is Momo in Samantha's room?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Gladstone on 21 Feb 2016, 22:03
Sam is babysitting.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: TheCollector on 21 Feb 2016, 22:45
They really seem to be delving into AI/Human intimate relations alot more since Bubbles came around huh?
/hint hint
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: anahata on 21 Feb 2016, 23:21
Fourteen is definitely old enough to know about smooching.

Yes of course, Momo's only making a hasty excuse for avoiding a subject she feels uncomfortable with. If she answered yes, Sam's next question would be "who?", though Momo would then be on safer ground to say that was none of Sam's business.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: hedgie on 21 Feb 2016, 23:35
It's just a good thing that Sam doesn't socialise with May or Pintsize.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 21 Feb 2016, 23:37
Well, that's pretty much how a fourteen-year-old would have a conversation like that! Teasing, challenging and full of that teenage conceit that they are somehow already grown up! There is also a call-back to the fact that Momo personally finds Sven attractive and wants to do the 'physical aspects' with him! Can't blame her for dodging that confession!  :wink:

Now, is Jeph laying the groundwork for something or is he just presenting the answer to a frequently asked question through Sam and Momo?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Storel on 21 Feb 2016, 23:40
Somewhere I got the impression that AIs/AnthroPCs didn't like the term "robot", so it seems odd to hear Momo saying "robot years". Or am I hallucinating having seen that in one of the older strips?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Loki on 21 Feb 2016, 23:43
"Like, smooching?" Somebody please tell me Sam's got the Talk already.

You know, not the one in strip 500.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: hedgie on 21 Feb 2016, 23:52
Somewhere I got the impression that AIs/AnthroPCs didn't like the term "robot", so it seems odd to hear Momo saying "robot years". Or am I hallucinating having seen that in one of the older strips?

It seems to vary from AI to AI.  Momo has used the word "robot" for herself on multiple occasions, even after getting the new chassis.  May, OTOH doesn't seem to like it much.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: oeoek on 22 Feb 2016, 00:25
Today's comic is a nice reminder of certain problems around AI's. In a way. Sam and Momo hanging out makes perfect sense, they pretty much look and act like girlfriends (frog lord (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2026)) They are both still very much exploring and questioning the world.
But in a way, Momo -and all AI's- are very different in childhood. Able to download massive amounts of data and protocols might make 4 year old Momo a suitable 'babysitter' (with the much needed more impulse control than the average fourteen year old). But just downloading data and protocols does not make a grown-up, and Momo is -like Sam- still in a process of figuring out what it all means (her talk with Bubbles is a good example I think). Her reaction is indeed not that mature if I try to imagine how for example Veronica might have handled it. Interesting...

And yes, there was that Sven-moment...


Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 22 Feb 2016, 01:22
It occurs to me that Sam is at just the right age where her hormone balances are changing and she's started to possibly start to feel attraction to others. It makes sense that she'd turn to her closest 'similar age' (adolescent or equivalent) friend to discuss this.

Here is a thought: QC started out very much as the story of Marten trying to get his life back together, post-Vicky. This meta-arc has more-or-less concluded now. There are only a few more serious steps for Jeph to dramatise before we can say Marten's arc is completely wrapped up. Similarly, one of the B-arcs, Dora's attempt to find stability in her life, seems to be approaching or even at a conclusion. I suspect that Jeph has decided to focus on a few new arcs to take over as the central plank of the strip.
I am arguing that, in some ways, we could consider the time skip at the start of this year as being the beginning of "Questionable Content v.2.0"
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 22 Feb 2016, 03:28
I wonder what the conversion rate is from robot to human years.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: osaka on 22 Feb 2016, 03:58
I'm guessing is not a linear scale and most likely depends on the model, specially taking into account the specializations different chassis can give. Hell, we could consider the original Pintzise chassis (way back at QC 1) to be equivalent to a talking baby, since he basically couldn't move on his own.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Zebediah on 22 Feb 2016, 04:01
Come to think of it, Sam's probably had a few sex ed classes.  Plus, there is a computer (not referring to Momo) in her room.  Even with a porn blocker, there's more than a few Wikipedia articles about human sexuality that could be read.

Absolutely. In Massachusetts sex ed classes start in sixth grade (ages 11-12). Fifth grade if you count discussion of puberty, though they don't cover the sexual aspects of it in until sixth grade. So Sam definitely should have learned about sex by now.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: ThePerilsOfDan on 22 Feb 2016, 06:13
I was digging Sam's choice of reading material and wonder if those 4" D-ring binders on the bottom shelf are her own field work results.  Jeph's comment about enjoying backgrounds in Manga Studio prompted me to take a closer look.

One question, I keep hearing something about a time skip and I am confused.  I've been reading this toon for a couple years now and I don't know what are they talking about and could use some enlightenment.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 22 Feb 2016, 06:18
One question, I keep hearing something about a time skip and I am confused.  I've been reading this toon for a couple years now and I don't know what are they talking about and could use some enlightenment.

At the start of this year, the strip skipped over the events of about 3-6 months in-universe. We have gone from the beginning of fall to possibly the beginning of winter or even later in the course of just one strip.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Morituri on 22 Feb 2016, 08:50
I'm writing off pintsize's original non-mobile chassis as a compromise between

"severely problematic underdeveloped personality and exposing him to humans is probably a risk to reputation and goodwill"

and

"nevertheless applied for companion duty and for unknown reasons, scored a match with a particular human (DEAR GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT BOY?!)"

And of course it turns out that the match was spurious because Gordon was freaking Marten the hell out, but it got Pintsize out of virtuality regardless.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: comicalArchitect on 22 Feb 2016, 09:05
Regarding the term "robot": I see it as almost like "colored". Not quite overtly offensive, but still antiquated enough that humans shouldn't use it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: DSL on 22 Feb 2016, 09:21
Regarding the term "robot": I see it as almost like "colored". Not quite overtly offensive, but still antiquated enough that humans shouldn't use it.

Any evidence for that being the case in-universe?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Zebediah on 22 Feb 2016, 09:44
All the evidence we have in-universe indicates that "robot" is a term that AIs with mechanical bodies use for themselves and do not find offensive when humans use it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: jheartney on 22 Feb 2016, 11:07
It occurs to me that Sam is at just the right age where her hormone balances are changing and she's started to possibly start to feel attraction to others. It makes sense that she'd turn to her closest 'similar age' (adolescent or equivalent) friend to discuss this.

That was probably at least a year earlier. By fourteen she'll have full information on the mechanics of human sexuality, and will have likely had at least one crush. If she's advanced, she'll have had more experience than that, though she strikes me as nerdy enough not to have.

The only reason for Momo to withhold specifics is out of deference to Jim. She should alert him that Sam asked the question, though.

On the point of human/AI relationships, it looks to me that there'd be a whole range, from purpose-built sex-bots to platonic love affairs a la Her. AI's are presented as having a recognizable gamut of human emotions, so this sort of thing would be inevitable.

(ETA: I see there's a whole thread for this topic.)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Undrneath on 22 Feb 2016, 11:19
I think Sam is a late blooming tomboy so she may not have developed to that point.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: chaospersonified on 22 Feb 2016, 11:55
I keep reading these comments like 'of COURSE she'll have had sex ed by fourteen!' and it's reminding me that most places aren't as bassackwards as where I grew up. My school taught sex ed to us in 9th grade, abstinence-only. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Zebediah on 22 Feb 2016, 12:02
I'll just leave  this here: One of my sisters is an MD in family practice. When she started her practice 30 years ago, she would ask 14-year-old girls if they needed to talk about birth control. Enough said "yes" that she started asking 13-year-olds. Then 12. Then 11. Now she routinely discusses sex and birth control with 10-year-old girls. Because they need to know.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Kugai on 22 Feb 2016, 12:05
I wonder if this is the beginning of a new and interesting arc
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: hedgie on 22 Feb 2016, 12:28
I'll just leave  this here: One of my sisters is an MD in family practice. When she started her practice 30 years ago, she would ask 14-year-old girls if they needed to talk about birth control. Enough said "yes" that she started asking 13-year-olds. Then 12. Then 11. Now she routinely discusses sex and birth control with 10-year-old girls. Because they need to know.

And as a doctor, she'd actually know how to discuss things properly.  I remember when I still played WoW, there was one guy asking in guild chat about the HPV jab and whether it was a good time to get for his kids who were either in that age range, or about to enter it.  I answered honestly and completely enough, albeit a bit bluntly about the prevalence of it, and the guy freaked and disconnected immediately.  An hour or so later, he comes back on.  Apparently his wife had to explain things to him in a less ham-fisted way to bring him back to normal and he said that he was scheduling appointments for the sprogs first thing in the morning.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 22 Feb 2016, 14:23
I'm guessing "jab" means vaccination? That's an interesting way to put it, hopefully whoever is wielding the needle doesn't take it literally.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: comicalArchitect on 22 Feb 2016, 14:24
Regarding the term "robot": I see it as almost like "colored". Not quite overtly offensive, but still antiquated enough that humans shouldn't use it.

Any evidence for that being the case in-universe?

Just the feeling I got based on the varying reactions to it throughout the comic. Not trying to make any definite statement.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: hedgie on 22 Feb 2016, 14:39
I'm guessing "jab" means vaccination? That's an interesting way to put it, hopefully whoever is wielding the needle doesn't take it literally.
Being terribly afraid of needles, trust me, I'm going to say "jab".  The one I got this year for the flu[1].  Got it in my right arm, since I'm left-handed, but since I sleep on my right side, I was pairing a strong night cap to go with my sleeping pill because otherwise the discomfort was too much.

[1]Not concerned about myself, but I don't want to be a potential Typhoid Mary for the immunosuppressed.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 22 Feb 2016, 14:47
Regarding the term "robot": I see it as almost like "colored". Not quite overtly offensive, but still antiquated enough that humans shouldn't use it.

Considering that the word robot came from the Czech word "robota", which means "forced labour", as in serfdom, itself coming from the word "rab" meaning "slave", I can understand why many AI and AnthroPCs might feel that the word is offensive.

With regards to Sam's questioning, I'm kinda getting the feeling that Jeph is using this both as a means to answer a perhaps oft-asked question with an innocent response, but also as a means to gauge people's responses to something happening somewhere down the line.

I'm guessing "jab" means vaccination? That's an interesting way to put it, hopefully whoever is wielding the needle doesn't take it literally.

Ever had to get an intramuscular vaccine shot? I've seen doctors and nurses practically throw the syringe to get it deep enough to where it needs to go.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Mordhaus on 22 Feb 2016, 14:55
All AI's want to do is to serve Man.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Morituri on 22 Feb 2016, 14:58
I think the politically correct word would probably be "Synthetic." 

Some people already use (and actively encourage others to use) it in discussions on "Artificial Intelligence" because what we're trying to create isn't FAKE intelligence, it's NON BIOLOGICAL intelligence.  Similarly, "Robot" sort of  implies an automaton (or slave) working according to an owners' orders where 'synthetic' just means it was created by technical means, so "Synthetic" is probably a much better word there.

However, it's never been used AFAIK in QC, so YMMV. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 22 Feb 2016, 15:29
All AI's want to do is to serve Man.

Plot twist! It's a cookbook!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Tova on 22 Feb 2016, 15:40
The term "jab" to mean "vaccine" is common here in Australia, at least.

I am generally fine with needles, but I still have memories of getting a cat scan as a young teenager, where they had to inject some kind of fluid into my spinal column, preceded by the teeniest little needle you've ever seen to administer an anesthetic. It seemed to take them forever, and I was in tears. They admonished me thus:

"We had a little girl in here, and she didn't cry."
"I DON'T CARE"

I'd rather not go through that again, thank you.

I'll be getting flu jab in the near future. Some people have bruising and all kinds of horrible problems, but luckily for me, it is no problem, and the people who administer it are pretty skilled at it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 22 Feb 2016, 16:19
Dog years are way more than Robot years.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: pwhodges on 22 Feb 2016, 16:35
The term "jab" to mean "vaccine" is common here in Australia, at least.

It's completely normal here in the UK also.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: FunkyTuba on 22 Feb 2016, 18:09
Re: "Robot"

Given her job interacting with The Public at the convenience store, May probably gets the term "robot" hurled at her as a pejorative more often than Momo does and as such might be more inclined to take offense at it.

Plus she was in "robot jail" which sucked.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Penquin47 on 22 Feb 2016, 19:53
I want a Derp Snake poster.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 22 Feb 2016, 19:59
The term "jab" to mean "vaccine" is common here in Australia, at least.

It's completely normal here in the UK also.
It makes way more sense than a "shot," which is what they call it in the states.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: hedgie on 22 Feb 2016, 20:21
I'm pretty sure that I have heard both in the US, although "shot" is far more common.  Sometimes my brain gets left-pondian and right pondian confused.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 22 Feb 2016, 20:30
She should alert him that Sam asked the question, though.
Since when was Momo a snitch? :parrot:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: chaospersonified on 22 Feb 2016, 20:44
I'm pretty sure that I have heard both in the US, although "shot" is far more common.  Sometimes my brain gets left-pondian and right pondian confused.

As a dude in the southern parts of the US, I would be entirely thrown off by the term 'jab' except for a good vocabulary and an appreciation for foreign media. The word is 'shot,' and I say that as the son of a doctor and someone who's worked in other areas of the American medical system.

'Jab' is something I could understand in context, but not something I've ever heard.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 22 Feb 2016, 20:52
Yeah, I figured out "jab" from context, but I'd never heard it used to mean that before today.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Tova on 22 Feb 2016, 21:50
I forgot to mention that I was quite pleased that Sam managed to find a way to produce a sentence containing three instances of the word "like" in a row.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: mustang6172 on 22 Feb 2016, 22:12
I'll look to like, if looking liking move:
But no more deep will I endart mine eye
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: WoaLG on 22 Feb 2016, 22:54
I rather like Sam's suggestion :)

And Momo is always so understanding when people make mistakes. She's a good example for humans to follow irl.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 22 Feb 2016, 23:06
Well, at least we know the reason why Sam is so accepting of Jim's relationship with Veronica: she loves her home-made cookies! So long as she has weapons like that in her arsenal, Sam won't be complaining!  :-D

So, what do you think? Is it rude for Veronica to forget that Momo is a synthetic, or is it a sign of her acceptance that she hardly thinks about it? I can see both sides' argument, frankly.

Jeph definitely has teenage relatives; his characterisation of Sam's body language is just right!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: WoaLG on 22 Feb 2016, 23:13
I'd say it's a sign of acceptance. It's good that Veronica understands Momo's differences but she mostly interacts with other humans and human is her default mental model of a person. That she automatically lumps Momo in with the other people she cares about means she considers Momo equal to other people and not something "Other."

I hope I made sense and I'm not just rambling.

And EVERYBODY loves home-made cookies.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 22 Feb 2016, 23:13
"As long as everyone tries their best, that is what matters".

That's a high standard. Momo is not letting us off the hook at all.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: MrNumbers on 22 Feb 2016, 23:22
I think the bigger faux pas would have been to not have made the offer.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: hedgie on 22 Feb 2016, 23:26
What I fail to understand is why, given this, and Pintsize's love for eating/imbibing despite what it does has no one in the QCverse ever come up with a small flexible holding tank so that an AI can eat?  Even if say, Momo's mouth is too rigid, and internal space too lacking to do so, there would most likely be chassis on the market that would have the required components.  And those AIs would likely have the money to buy regular enzyme-liquid (saliva) cartridges the same way we waste money on printer ink.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: sheenobu on 22 Feb 2016, 23:27
I'd say it's a sign of acceptance. It's good that Veronica understands Momo's differences but she mostly interacts with other humans and human is her default mental model of a person. That she automatically lumps Momo in with the other people she cares about means she considers Momo equal to other people and not something "Other."

Finding out you aren't part of someones default mental model of a person can be an alienating experience. I would consider it an off-the-cuff definition of Othering. I don't think Veronica did anything wrong but she does seem nervous about Momo. It makes me wonder what the QC AI timeline is? (I'm sure it's written down somewhere). Is Veronica not as used to AIs as the people her sons age?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: WoaLG on 22 Feb 2016, 23:51
I'd say it's a sign of acceptance. It's good that Veronica understands Momo's differences but she mostly interacts with other humans and human is her default mental model of a person. That she automatically lumps Momo in with the other people she cares about means she considers Momo equal to other people and not something "Other."

Finding out you aren't part of someones default mental model of a person can be an alienating experience. I would consider it an off-the-cuff definition of Othering. I don't think Veronica did anything wrong but she does seem nervous about Momo. It makes me wonder what the QC AI timeline is? (I'm sure it's written down somewhere). Is Veronica not as used to AIs as the people her sons age?

Hmm, I didn't consider that. I wonder what the ratio of AI to Humans is, and how many of those AIs are wearing Chasis like Momo and May that are humanoid enough to pass as human at first glance.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Truec on 22 Feb 2016, 23:53
What I fail to understand is why, given this, and Pintsize's love for eating/imbibing despite what it does has no one in the QCverse ever come up with a small flexible holding tank so that an AI can eat? 

They did.  Pintsize has one. (http://questionablecontent.net./view.php?comic=212)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: WoaLG on 22 Feb 2016, 23:54
It makes me wonder what the QC AI timeline is? (I'm sure it's written down somewhere). Is Veronica not as used to AIs as the people her sons age?

I don't know exactly when AIs came into being, but it was at least as early as 1994, since http://jephjacques.com/post/14655843351/un-hearing-on-ai-rights happens in 1999 and it says that the first AI spent 5 years in a box.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 22 Feb 2016, 23:55
I'd say it's a sign of acceptance. It's good that Veronica understands Momo's differences but she mostly interacts with other humans and human is her default mental model of a person. That she automatically lumps Momo in with the other people she cares about means she considers Momo equal to other people and not something "Other."

Finding out you aren't part of someones default mental model of a person can be an alienating experience. I would consider it an off-the-cuff definition of Othering. I don't think Veronica did anything wrong but she does seem nervous about Momo. It makes me wonder what the QC AI timeline is? (I'm sure it's written down somewhere). Is Veronica not as used to AIs as the people her sons age?

Welcome, curious new person!

I don't think we have a complete timeline for AI development but we know that full civil rights are a recent development and the outcome of a long struggle. We know that Station has been around at least twenty years, so it must have been a really long struggle.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: sheenobu on 23 Feb 2016, 00:02
Welcome, curious new person!

Thank you! Long time forum lurker. I tried to login to my non-existent account today then realized I had never made one.  :-P

I don't think we have a complete timeline for AI development but we know that full civil rights are a recent development and the outcome of a long struggle. We know that Station has been around at least twenty years, so it must have been a really long struggle.

I never thought about Station since they live in space away from cookie related misunderstandings.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: anahata on 23 Feb 2016, 00:23
Station may be over 20, but since he's part of the E-C research project he may have been around for a long time before AI's started going out into the world as companions for ordinary (not technically minded) people.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 23 Feb 2016, 01:59
I've long wondered if Station might be one of the Gen-Zero AIs, the very first tranche that were laboriously put together in a lab rather than just generated with proven technology. If he is, then the other AIs probably look upon him as one of the Elders and the fact that he helped raise Hannelore (in fact, may be closer to her, emotionally, than her mother and possibly even her father) can only further raise her status in their eyes.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Qazwer on 23 Feb 2016, 02:44
I don't know exactly when AIs came into being, but it was at least as early as 1994, since http://jephjacques.com/post/14655843351/un-hearing-on-ai-rights happens in 1999 and it says that the first AI spent 5 years in a box.

I just read that speech. Thanks for the link, and man, I just realised that there might be tons of more canon material on the QCverse (apart from the comic itself)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: osaka on 23 Feb 2016, 03:34
Is it me or Sam's offering seems like something more appropriate for Bubbles' smell calibration?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: ZoeB on 23 Feb 2016, 05:20
"As long as everyone tries their best, that is what matters".

That's a high standard. Momo is not letting us off the hook at all.

Maybe if you just do your best to do your best. Everyone's human fallible.

Veronica felt bad about a minor faux pas. The kind thing to do under those circumstances for the aggrieved party is to offer comfort and forgiveness. Momo came through brilliantly, which is what I'd expect from her. However, while I'd expect it, it would be wrong to take it for granted. Everyone's human fallible after all, and no-one (least of all me) lives up to our ideals all the time.  Just do your best to do your best, and you won't go far wrong. That works for me, anyway.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 23 Feb 2016, 06:50
Also, it should be noted that the cookie was not worthless to Momo. The offer of the cookie was made expecting it to be eaten, but Momo benefited nonetheless.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 23 Feb 2016, 07:34
What I fail to understand is why, given this, and Pintsize's love for eating/imbibing despite what it does has no one in the QCverse ever come up with a small flexible holding tank so that an AI can eat?  Even if say, Momo's mouth is too rigid, and internal space too lacking to do so, there would most likely be chassis on the market that would have the required components.  And those AIs would likely have the money to buy regular enzyme-liquid (saliva) cartridges the same way we waste money on printer ink.

I imagine that we see less eating from other AnthroPCs besides Pintsize due to the effect of the Uncanny Valley. Its one thing to see someone like Pintsize just shoving dough or tomato sauce into his mouth because its comical, but somehow I think seeing someone like Momo attempting to chew would be off-putting to some. As advanced as some AnthroPCs are, there might still be some actions that would just seem...artificial. Its that artificialness that might seem off-putting. Most AnthroPCs and AI are probably fully aware of this effect, so while they most likely are about to chew, probably choose not to in public/in front of people out of respect. Pintsize can get away with it because... well look at him.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: wlewisiii on 23 Feb 2016, 07:56
"As long as everyone tries their best, that is what matters".

That's a high standard. Momo is not letting us off the hook at all.

Maybe if you just do your best to do your best. Everyone's human fallible.

Veronica felt bad about a minor faux pas. The kind thing to do under those circumstances for the aggrieved party is to offer comfort and forgiveness. Momo came through brilliantly, which is what I'd expect from her. However, while I'd expect it, it would be wrong to take it for granted. Everyone's human fallible after all, and no-one (least of all me) lives up to our ideals all the time.  Just do your best to do your best, and you won't go far wrong. That works for me, anyway.

Exactly. The core of real religious teaching is a lesson that has appeared world wide in nearly every religion and ethical tradition & can be derived from secular thinking as well - treat others as you would want them to treat you & do not do to them what you would not want done to you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule As has been said, the rest is "just commentary".

Both Momo and Veronica lived up to this BTW and provided a teaching that, while it may not be obvious at the moment, is the kind of thing that will linger in the back of Sam's mind informing her own behavior.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: President Peaches on 23 Feb 2016, 09:45
For some reason this comic came to mind. http://humoncomics.com/ball-buster
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 23 Feb 2016, 12:39
Quote from: BenRG
the other AIs probably look upon him as one of the Elders

We have a data point to confirm that. Remember how Pintsize reacted when he discovered Marten had been talking with Station himself?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Jakk Frost on 23 Feb 2016, 12:56
I'd say it's a sign of acceptance. It's good that Veronica understands Momo's differences but she mostly interacts with other humans and human is her default mental model of a person. That she automatically lumps Momo in with the other people she cares about means she considers Momo equal to other people and not something "Other."

Finding out you aren't part of someones default mental model of a person can be an alienating experience. I would consider it an off-the-cuff definition of Othering. I don't think Veronica did anything wrong but she does seem nervous about Momo. It makes me wonder what the QC AI timeline is? (I'm sure it's written down somewhere). Is Veronica not as used to AIs as the people her sons age?

I don't think she's really nervous about Momo at all, she just got a little flustered about making what she perceived as a faux pas when she herself lives what general society views as an alternative lifestyle and hopes others would be as accepting of her as she is of them.

Personally I don't feel she made much of a faux pas in this particular instance though.  She accepted and perceived Momo with no prejudice whatsoever, the way I see it, and by offering her cookies treated her no different than the other youngster in the room.  It could even, in a way, be viewed as complimentary that for a moment she forgot Momo wasn't a "real girl".  The bigger faux pas, if anything, might be that Veronica made such an issue of it afterwards.

I get that some disabled people, or people who are "different from the norm" can get upset when someone appears to forget that fact, using words like "unfeeling", "unempathic", and "alienating".  They want these people not to remind them of their differences, and be mindful to not do anything that does remind them they're different.  That just doesn't feel natural to me.

Personally, when one's friends forget,  I view it as acceptance to the point that they just don't notice the difference anymore, and instead of viewing you as "my blind friend",  "my wheelchair bound friend", or "my manic depressive friend", they just view you as "my friend".
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Kugai on 23 Feb 2016, 13:08
It was a nice offer, a genuine mistake but Momo took it well.

Imagine if it was May!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Akima on 23 Feb 2016, 14:52
I don't think she's really nervous about Momo at all, she just got a little flustered about making what she perceived as a faux pas when she herself lives what general society views as an alternative lifestyle and hopes others would be as accepting of her as she is of them.
Yes, I agree. I feel the same way when I catch myself doing the same sort of thing on racial issues, for example, and feel like a jerk for doing so. I guess that as long as one is critical of ones own behaviour, and keeps trying to do better, one is trying to live up to Momo's standard.

Robots eating, or rather simulating eating, is an interesting question. For a very human-looking personal companion robot, the ability to simulate eating might help them blend in in a social environment, but potentially it might creep people out if the robot is still detectable as a robot. There is a scene in The Caves of Steel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Caves_of_Steel) where Elijah Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw "eat" together, and the robot Olivaw reveals that he simulates eating to blend in, storing the food in a teflon-plastic bag inside his torso that he empties later. Bailey is OK with that, though somewhat offended by the waste of food (Earth hovers on the brink of starvation in this book), but disgusted when Olivaw goes on to offer his ingested but clean, unchewed, and undigested food to him as an extra meal...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 23 Feb 2016, 17:34
I think Momo's standard incorporates the duty of self-education.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 23 Feb 2016, 18:10
Grind up the sugary food, and add water. Let the solids settle, then run the solution through a fuel cell.

Ping of "Megatokyo" eats and is able to derive energy from food sugars. She must do something like that.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: PopuluxeCowboy on 23 Feb 2016, 18:19
Veronica's character has always been awesome, but she's really something special lately.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: mustang6172 on 23 Feb 2016, 18:23
It was a nice offer, a genuine mistake but Momo took it well.

Imagine if it was May!

I don't think May would bake cookies, regardless of Momo's presence.   :clairedoge:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: chaospersonified on 23 Feb 2016, 18:42
Honestly, Jakk Frost, that whole thing and the only thing I disagreed with was that Momo might consider it a compliment to be mistaken for human. She'sso different. I don't know about the entirety of Robo-kind, if they'd accept such a description, but I feel like mimicking human form isn't the point. Some models, like Momo, are humanoid, but Punchbot? Nope.

I don't think it's necessarily a point of concern in this case, with Momo who has always been treated as if she were human, but I doubt the majority of humanoid AI are entirely chill with people thinking they're human, especially considering the fact that, in a different chassis, they most definitely were not!

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Tova on 23 Feb 2016, 19:23
It was a nice offer, a genuine mistake but Momo took it well.

Imagine if it was May!

I don't think May would bake cookies, regardless of Momo's presence.   :clairedoge:

Ah, it's the ol' Reddit switcharoo!
Oops, sorry. Wrong forum.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Undrneath on 23 Feb 2016, 19:36
Honestly, Jakk Frost, that whole thing and the only thing I disagreed with was that Momo might consider it a compliment to be mistaken for human. She'sso different. I don't know about the entirety of Robo-kind, if they'd accept such a description, but I feel like mimicking human form isn't the point. Some models, like Momo, are humanoid, but Punchbot? Nope.

I don't think it's necessarily a point of concern in this case, with Momo who has always been treated as if she were human, but I doubt the majority of humanoid AI are entirely chill with people thinking they're human, especially considering the fact that, in a different chassis, they most definitely were not!

I don't think the sentiment was intended as she can pass for human more like in the Dr. King, judged not for the color of their skin but for the content of their character sort of way.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: chris73 on 23 Feb 2016, 21:10
Is it just me but does Sam act more like a young kid as opposed to a young teenager?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Omega Entity on 23 Feb 2016, 21:30
Eh, depends on the teenager. I was still pretty excitable as a 14-year-old, as was my best friend at the time. We were also both tomboys.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: chris73 on 23 Feb 2016, 21:39
Yeah I guess so, she just reminds me of my friends and relatives that're around that age
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 23 Feb 2016, 22:11
The Pugnacious Peach is far more at ease with Martenmom than she used to be. It's interesting though that she still won't use Ms. Reed's first name despite having been invited to as far back as strip 416.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Stoon on 23 Feb 2016, 22:14
I love the way Faye is identical to Sam in the first two frames.   :-D
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Lubricus on 23 Feb 2016, 22:31
The shading in panel two sort of makes it look like Veronica has pulled down her pants a little. I know that's not the case, but it would kind of fit the character a bit...  :psyduck:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: neurocase on 23 Feb 2016, 22:39
I've really liked the way Jeph has been drawing Marten recently. I can't quite put my finger on it, and it could just be a representation of a deeper shift in mannerisms and personality, but he seems more dynamic since the time skip. I point to the last panel of the comic leading up to he and Claire's first intimacies as evidence of this (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2890); those eyes are straight up creeptown. Compare his hair in the following strip to today's as well. I dunno, I'm rambling. I just keep looking at today's panel three, and I can't get over how grown up Marten looks. He's still "skinny as a slide rule" but his facial structure seems more filled out and defined. I dunno, it's late.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Tova on 23 Feb 2016, 23:22
Marten is definitely helping to ease his Mum's guilt.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 23 Feb 2016, 23:23
I'm sort of waiting for Veronica to suddenly realise that she's already adopted Sam in her heart.  :-)

Yeah, its funny how Faye is shown acting in exactly the same way as Sam. I admit that I've long thought that Sam is Faye's "Mini-Me". Now I'm wondering if Jeph sees things the same way. There are parallels between Sam's friendship with Momo and Faye's with Bubbles, when you think about it. Both humans treat their AI counterparts as their friends first and reference their species second. They may be the first to do so.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 23 Feb 2016, 23:29
In strip 1900 Marten said he primarily thought of Pintsize as just a little dude rather than as an AI.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: USS Martenclaire on 24 Feb 2016, 00:51
Come read Questionable Content. We have COOKIES.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: DSL on 24 Feb 2016, 06:36
I'm liking how Jeph is writing VV these days: Showing her as someone coming to terms with aging (Though she's still a relative young'un of ... what'd she say? 58?) and changing, more sedate, more "conventional" circumstances of her life -- determined to meet the new circumstances with good humor. She and Marten seem to be more ready to take each other as equal-ish (she's always gonna be his Ma). Though the interrelationships and former interrelationships have got to make for some interesting conversation, in- and off-panel. -- "Sigh. What did your daughter and my son's roommate do NOW?"

PS -- that scrunched-up slightly frustrated expression Japh gives VV from time to time lately  is -- kind of adorable.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Hotel Papa on 24 Feb 2016, 10:34
I love the way Faye is identical to Sam in the first two frames.   :-D
Not just the first two. She mirrors her right trough the whole strip. Evil prodigal sister, aparently...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: ThePerilsOfDan on 24 Feb 2016, 12:38
I love the way Faye is identical to Sam in the first two frames.   :-D

me, too.  I have the worst craving for cookies and store bought just ain't going to cut it.  Have to check on my baking supplies.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: cesium133 on 24 Feb 2016, 12:39
Maybe I should thaw out the dough I made last week and bake some cookies...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Kugai on 24 Feb 2016, 14:10
And the moral of the story is never make fun of your Mom when she's baking cookies

Otherwise they'll all go to Faye
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: comicalArchitect on 24 Feb 2016, 14:11
I don't think she's really nervous about Momo at all, she just got a little flustered about making what she perceived as a faux pas when she herself lives what general society views as an alternative lifestyle and hopes others would be as accepting of her as she is of them.
Yes, I agree. I feel the same way when I catch myself doing the same sort of thing on racial issues, for example, and feel like a jerk for doing so. I guess that as long as one is critical of ones own behaviour, and keeps trying to do better, one is trying to live up to Momo's standard.

Robots eating, or rather simulating eating, is an interesting question. For a very human-looking personal companion robot, the ability to simulate eating might help them blend in in a social environment, but potentially it might creep people out if the robot is still detectable as a robot. There is a scene in The Caves of Steel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Caves_of_Steel) where Elijah Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw "eat" together, and the robot Olivaw reveals that he simulates eating to blend in, storing the food in a teflon-plastic bag inside his torso that he empties later. Bailey is OK with that, though somewhat offended by the waste of food (Earth hovers on the brink of starvation in this book), but disgusted when Olivaw goes on to offer his ingested but clean, unchewed, and undigested food to him as an extra meal...

Wow, that almost sounds like a joke Jeph would do. (Also that book is amazing and anyone who likes robots [all of us here] should read it.)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: cesium133 on 24 Feb 2016, 14:13
I've been reading through the Foundation books, so I suppose I may as well add that to my reading list.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Zebediah on 24 Feb 2016, 15:11
I wonder if Veronica is even aware that Sam's friend Momo is also Marten's co-worker Momo. Though it's been a while since we've seen Momo at the library.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Endellion on 24 Feb 2016, 15:32
I've been reading through the Foundation books, so I suppose I may as well add that to my reading list.

I thought that the first three were excellent, fourth and fifth we're a bit 'meh' and I didn't read past there.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: cesium133 on 24 Feb 2016, 15:58
I'm about 2/3 of the way through the second book right now.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: mustang6172 on 24 Feb 2016, 18:23
I'm liking how Jeph is writing VV these days: Showing her as someone coming to terms with aging (Though she's still a relative young'un of ... what'd she say? 58?) and changing, more sedate, more "conventional" circumstances of her life -- determined to meet the new circumstances with good humor. She and Marten seem to be more ready to take each other as equal-ish (she's always gonna be his Ma). Though the interrelationships and former interrelationships have got to make for some interesting conversation, in- and off-panel. -- "Sigh. What did your daughter and my son's roommate do NOW?"

PS -- that scrunched-up slightly frustrated expression Japh gives VV from time to time lately  is -- kind of adorable.

I thought she'd have more anxieties to work through.  To date her longest romantic relationship has been with a closeted homosexual.  Maybe you didn't notice her crying on the eve of said homosexual's wedding while Claire was incapacitated by a beverage. (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2384)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: comicalArchitect on 24 Feb 2016, 18:27
Does anyone else smell an imminent new character?! No way this boy Sam kissed doesn't show up outside her story.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: improvnerd on 24 Feb 2016, 18:45
I just want to know where the cookie went.

Same place the tea mug went, I guess.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: comicalArchitect on 24 Feb 2016, 19:13
Pintsize has a hoard.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Tova on 24 Feb 2016, 19:28
I just want to know where the cookie went.

Same place the tea mug went, I guess.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe:

"This unexpected cup of tea is good. I'd love to have a cookie to go with it."
*cookie apparates*
"... I WISH I HAD A PONY."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: improvnerd on 24 Feb 2016, 19:41
"... I WISH I HAD A PONY."

Next week: Somebody says something exciting to Bubbles, while she is shoeing a pony.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: chaospersonified on 24 Feb 2016, 19:44
I'd be surprised if said boy showed up.

Sam, entertaining as she is, and with as much story potential as she's got at the moment, is more of a side character than the more adult cast. I think this will more likely direct back to Jim and Veronica possibly talking to Sam about certain things. Why the guy she likes turns red and stutters when he meets Veronica, for example.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Deadman on 24 Feb 2016, 20:01
Hmmm this kinda makes one consider Momo's "age" with in the context of her crush on Sven; also in general like in what would be a comparable age
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 24 Feb 2016, 20:05
There isn't one.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Kugai on 24 Feb 2016, 21:47
And the cuteness overload is astronomical
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Sullivan on 24 Feb 2016, 22:38
And the cuteness overload is astronomical
Indeed. I can hear the squealing and giggling a whole continent and a universe away.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Timemaster on 24 Feb 2016, 22:41
LITTLE GIRLS!!!
Oh my god, they are so cute.  :laugh:

The two of them remind me so much of my own daughter, when she was Sam´s age. Which is only two years ago, actually. This is great.
And no way we´ll ever see said boy. It was a dare and the guy is completely irrelevant to the story. Kissing games were very common to me at that age. And I kissed my first girl in a dare, too. And though I remenber her face and her name, she has never been important to me after that one short kiss.

But I love the art in this one. Again. Such a wide range of expressions in basically the same setting and perspective in each panel. You can really feel the increase in embarrassement in the conversation. Simply beautiful and so well observed.

TM
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Carl-E on 24 Feb 2016, 22:57
"I kissed a boy, and I liked it..."



No cherry chapstick, though. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Skewbrow on 24 Feb 2016, 23:04
But looks like it felt so right.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Loki on 24 Feb 2016, 23:13
Us boys, we are so magical, soft skin, pink lips, so touchable...

What? You think boys have different skin than girls?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Sullivan on 24 Feb 2016, 23:23
Us boys, we are so magical, soft skin, pink lips, so touchable...

What? You think boys have different skin than girls?
Actually, yes, especially after puberty starts its work. Girls' skin is generally softer, lips are fuller, and they smell different.  :-)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 24 Feb 2016, 23:27
I think that this is the most teenage that I've ever seen Momo act. However, I do think that her curiousity is more than just 'giggling girl'. She genuinely wants to know!

As for Sam's kiss partner? It isn't a given that we'll ever hear more about him, let alone see him. However, stranger things have happened and there has to be a reason why Sam was dared to kiss him. So, he may make an appearance if Jeph decides to write further Sam-centric arcs. Just imagine the 'palace guard' of surrogate elder sisters and aunts such a boy would need to brave! Think how Faye or Dora would act...! What if Bubbles got into the act.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 24 Feb 2016, 23:48
Momo acting like a teenager, or maybe younger (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1473).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: osaka on 25 Feb 2016, 02:05
I wonder if chassis changes would slightly alter AIs behavior. After all, on the strip IiCih linked, Momo was acting like a spoiled child while on the chibi chassis, something we haven't seen on the new one. Probably the different sensors and calibrations can alter the perception of the world slightly and mimic a process of "growing".

It could also be that Teen Momo hasn't been playing WoW at all tho.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 25 Feb 2016, 02:21
It's also possible that Momo was engaging in her long-term project of improving Marigold's behaviour and emotional maturity by giving her a taste of her own medicine! At least that was my impression the first time I read that sequence of strips.

The difference in today's strip is that Momo is a lot more spontaneous and less calculated in her youthful behaviour. Unlike with Marigold who, as her contract companion, has the right to get a certain amount of forethought, Momo is able to be very much herself and react on impulse with her friend Sam.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Zebediah on 25 Feb 2016, 11:01
If there was one additional panel to this comic, it would show both of them saying "EEEeeeeeEEEEeeeEEEE!!!"
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Roborat on 25 Feb 2016, 11:48
So, second panel, I can't decide if Sam is spitting  cookie crumbs, or her freckles leapt off her face.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 25 Feb 2016, 13:24
There are carbon-based people who act differently after getting cosmetic surgery, so there could be something analogous when AIs change bodies.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Y on 25 Feb 2016, 15:14
So, second panel, I can't decide if Sam is spitting  cookie crumbs, or her freckles leapt off her face.
I was wondering that myself, though I first thought it would be crumbs.

How long has the comic has had taglines? I only seem to notice them now.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: DonInKansas on 25 Feb 2016, 15:27
LITTLE GIRLS!!!
Oh my god, they are so cute.  :laugh:

The two of them remind me so much of my own daughter, when she was Sam´s age. Which is only two years ago, actually. This is great.
And no way we´ll ever see said boy. It was a dare and the guy is completely irrelevant to the story. Kissing games were very common to me at that age. And I kissed my first girl in a dare, too. And though I remenber her face and her name, she has never been important to me after that one short kiss.

But I love the art in this one. Again. Such a wide range of expressions in basically the same setting and perspective in each panel. You can really feel the increase in embarrassement in the conversation. Simply beautiful and so well observed.

TM

As a parent of a seven year old girl, this comic terrifies me because it makes me think about my daughter being only a few years away from this. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 25 Feb 2016, 15:33
So, second panel, I can't decide if Sam is spitting  cookie crumbs, or her freckles leapt off her face.
I was wondering that myself, though I first thought it would be crumbs.

How long has the comic has had taglines? I only seem to notice them now.
In 3127 (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3127) and 3128 (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3128), he accidentally set the copyright date at 20016, instead of fixing it back in 3129 (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3129), he arguably did the first one there, and has done it consistently since 3133 (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3133).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: hedgie on 25 Feb 2016, 17:35
As a parent of a seven year old girl, this comic terrifies me because it makes me think about my daughter being only a few years away from this.
I used to tease someone I know about things like that.  Her husband (my friend) was resigned to his fate, but she was in deep denial.  Thankfully, the kid is extremely self-aware and seems to be trained well for the future so she shouldn't get in too much trouble at that age.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Zebediah on 25 Feb 2016, 17:47
I have an eleven-year-old son. We're already seeing the early warning signs of teenagerhood. It's going to be a bumpy ride for everyone.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Carl-E on 25 Feb 2016, 19:43
My girls are 22 and 26. 



Still hoping they'll grow out of teenagerhood someday...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Penquin47 on 25 Feb 2016, 20:20
I'm 33.  I'm still hoping to grow past the teenage stage in my relationship with my mom.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Squiddlywinx on 25 Feb 2016, 20:23
Next storyline: Sam/Marigold bitter custody dispute!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: mustang6172 on 25 Feb 2016, 20:27
My cat does the same thing as Momo when she wants me to wake up and open the door for her.

Marten, turn down the brightness.  That's bad for your eyes... probably.
Bubbles, admire the crap out of Tycho!
Jeph, it feels like we skipped a comic.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: St.Clair on 25 Feb 2016, 20:50
*tries to imagine Bubbles singing "Somewhere Out There"*
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: DSL on 25 Feb 2016, 21:51
I'm 33.  I'm still hoping to grow past the teenage stage in my relationship with my mom.

I'm 51. I'll let ya know.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: celticgeek on 25 Feb 2016, 22:12
I'm 33.  I'm still hoping to grow past the teenage stage in my relationship with my mom.

I'm 51. I'll let ya know.

I'm 75, I let you know, too. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Nepiophage on 25 Feb 2016, 23:14
I'm 33.  I'm still hoping to grow past the teenage stage in my relationship with my mom.

Teenager? Mine treated me as if I was six.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Undrneath on 25 Feb 2016, 23:19
This is the thing about parents, to them you will always be that baby they first brought home.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Coffee_Kaioken on 25 Feb 2016, 23:28
I don't log in to comment often, but I think it deserved mention that if Jeph made poster size versions of this comic, I would buy one up.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 25 Feb 2016, 23:44
Jeph has shown this before but I think that it is worth remembering: Momo loves humanity so much that she can find contentment in just sitting there and watching us exist. For all her faults (which are manifold - temper most notably) she has a soul full of love for her friends.

I wonder how long Marten and Claire are going to be flirting by text? I suspect that it will be until one of them fall asleep! They're so in love right now that it borders on an addiction to each other!

Meanwhile, Bubbles has a strong "I'm only a bird in a gilded cage" thing going there!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 26 Feb 2016, 00:11
I like that idea better than mine, which is that she watches us out of curiosity just as a cat would.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Undrneath on 26 Feb 2016, 00:21
I like that idea better than mine, which is that she watches us out of curiosity just as a cat would.

As long as she doesn't then turn around and steal our breath as we sleep I think I'd be okay with that.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: MrNumbers on 26 Feb 2016, 00:42
I'm genuinely tempted to write "Sex Guy" now.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Ysobel on 26 Feb 2016, 02:25
I'm genuinely tempted to write "Sex Guy" now.

It does sound a bit like adhering to the "T.Rex School of Erotic Fiction" (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1790), I thought.

BTW, regarding the poll: "playing mini-golf" struck me as a "novel euphemism" (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1788), especially considering what that option initally was.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: BenRG on 26 Feb 2016, 04:03
Firstly, hello to Ysobel - Your post count says '1' but I'm sure that you've been here a long time!

Secondly... Am I the only one who reads panel 4 as saying that Bubbles is tired of her self-imposed prison? I think that she's going to break out and some time soon. The level of drama that involves will depend strongly on whether Corpse Witch is going to tolerate her losing her current high degree of control over Bubbles' life.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: ZoeB on 26 Feb 2016, 04:26
I'm a hopeless romantic. I'd like to think that Bubbles might be looking at Station.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: osaka on 26 Feb 2016, 04:31
I'm a hopeless romantic. I'd like to think that Bubbles might be looking at Station.

This can't bode well for Hanners.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 26 Feb 2016, 04:34
*tries to imagine Bubbles singing "Somewhere Out There"*
My first thought was "Up There" (https://youtube.com/watch?v=Jo4XXm8OUP4).

Edit: Shit, did the link in a hurry before work. Fixed now.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Zebediah on 26 Feb 2016, 04:38
Bubbles: "I did not go to space today.



But someday..."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 26 Feb 2016, 05:16
So many answers and questions in today's comic.... Is Momo adopting a new human? Marigold doesn't need her so much anymore, and she really does seem to be fitting in better with Sam. Still, they all three have excuses to hang out together with Sam's Let's Play. Marten and Claire are not living together, but so in love it's sappy and cute. Possibly just a matter of time and expenses at this point? It looks like Faye is still living at the apartment, and looks pretty comfortable and happy with herself these days. She's alone and looks comfortable with herself, enjoying her Sex Man smut and cookies. A far cry from drinking herself to oblivion to avoid her problems from months ago. And Bubbles looks like she's wondering if  the world out there isn't as bad a she feared all this time. That she can be accepted out there. And maybe it's time to begin healing?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: ischaemia on 26 Feb 2016, 07:13
Dude, Marten really needs to get fl.ux or Lux something for his phone, all that bright light is going to wreck his circadian rhythm. It's too hard to tell people not to phone in bed, but you can at least make the light a warmer, dimmer hue to lessen the impact on your sleep patterns.

S-sorry, I guess this reads more like a PSA than a post. It's all true though!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: anahata on 26 Feb 2016, 08:21
I don't log in to comment often, but I think it deserved mention that if Jeph made poster size versions of this comic, I would buy one up.

I think I'd go for one of panel 4 only.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Morituri on 26 Feb 2016, 08:46
Oh good lord. 

Momo in today's strip reminds me so much of one of the creepiest things any of my friends has ever done.  Well okay maybe not the creepiest, but at least in the top ten.

I had a flatmate in college who was a bit.  um.  Well we used to say he was "wound too tight" because he was always over-stressing over whatever came up.  Anything that happened was a major crisis. 

And then at the end of the semester there were final exams.  We got one week between end of classes and start of exams, just for review and study, and he DID NOT SLEEP for the entire week.  More caffeine.  More books.  More practice problems.  Writing in the dead of night.  etc. Sometimes he was waking me up in the night to talk about the material from the classes we had together, until I told him rather firmly not to.

So he took his exams (I never found out whether he did well or badly on them) and came back to the house, and still couldn't sleep.  Of course this was another major crisis.  One that kept him awake nights. 

Until a few days later he wasn't there in the morning, and then I got a call from the police. 

He had gotten arrested because he had been breaking into the  homes of total strangers to watch THEM sleep. :-o

He wasn't still in school the following semester.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 26 Feb 2016, 09:07
I do hope he got help.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Morituri on 26 Feb 2016, 09:27
Next time I saw him he had a prescription or two and was talking to a therapist sometimes.  It felt weird talking to him, like he was sort of someone else.  Someone not quite as razor-sharp smart or creative, but a whole heck of a lot calmer and happier. 

I felt for him, in a there-but-for-the-grace way.  I'd had some mental trouble myself dealing with some crap about ten years earlier, and the stuff they gave me then had made me feel like my head was full of felt.  Much better drugs were available by the time he was going through it, but they were still clearly "taking the edge off" in more ways than one.  I hope he managed to straighten it out enough to get off the scripts.

I hear they have even better drugs now.  But I have no experience of them, thank goodness. It could still happen again though.  It nearly did when my dad passed. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 26 Feb 2016, 09:34
Welcome, Ysobel!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: brew on 26 Feb 2016, 12:08
Dude, Marten really needs to get fl.ux or Lux something for his phone, all that bright light is going to wreck his circadian rhythm. It's too hard to tell people not to phone in bed, but you can at least make the light a warmer, dimmer hue to lessen the impact on your sleep patterns.

S-sorry, I guess this reads more like a PSA than a post. It's all true though!

Is there an iPhone option without jailbreaking? http://9to5mac.com/2015/11/12/flux-iphone-sideloading-shut-down/
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Kugai on 26 Feb 2016, 12:10
I'm more inclined to think Bubbles is thinking of her recent conversation with Corpsewitch and maybe considering of her growing friendship with Faye
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 26 Feb 2016, 13:28
Dude, Marten really needs to get fl.ux or Lux something for his phone, all that bright light is going to wreck his circadian rhythm. It's too hard to tell people not to phone in bed, but you can at least make the light a warmer, dimmer hue to lessen the impact on your sleep patterns.

S-sorry, I guess this reads more like a PSA than a post. It's all true though!

Is there an iPhone option without jailbreaking? http://9to5mac.com/2015/11/12/flux-iphone-sideloading-shut-down/
There will be in iOS 9.3! I've had the beta (and therefore this feature) for so long that I didn't realize it wasn't available in an already released OS.

Kugai, thanks for the heads up re: my earlier link.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Y on 26 Feb 2016, 14:30
Well, I remember a night with some people from my dorm, after a party we came to the dorm chatting in the room of girl sitting on her bed. We also were wondering where our other dorm mate went off to if he made it to bed as he was very drunk. So when it was getting late we were leaving her room, leaving the girl alone. As I left the door I noticed him lying under her bed. So I suppose there is some truth in checking under the bed for monsters.

As for Sam, doesn't lying with your hand on your head gives you headaches when you wake up? Also Faye eating cookies in bed, I thought you shouldn't eat anything sweet after brushing your teeth for the night, she does still brush them right?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 26 Feb 2016, 14:38
Confession: I usually just brush mine in the morning. I'd never admit this to my dentist, but yeah.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Y on 26 Feb 2016, 15:54
Confession: I usually just brush mine in the morning. I'd never admit this to my dentist, but yeah.

Actually, I only brush them at night. I know I should do it in the morning too, but then breakfast would taste weird.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Thrudd on 26 Feb 2016, 16:12
Confession: I usually just brush mine in the morning. I'd never admit this to my dentist, but yeah.
Actually, I only brush them at night. I know I should do it in the morning too, but then breakfast would taste weird.
What? You don't like minty fresh oatmeal?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: cesium133 on 26 Feb 2016, 16:29
I brush after breakfast. That way I don't go to work with breakfast breath.

(And I brush in the evenings too. And floss. And rinse. I'm trying to make up for all the neglect I did to my teeth in my teens and early 20s.)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: War Sparrow on 26 Feb 2016, 16:39
I brush at night. I get up just early enough to get dressed, make coffee, read the news, and leave. I need to fix that.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Omega Entity on 26 Feb 2016, 17:38
Confession: I usually just brush mine in the morning. I'd never admit this to my dentist, but yeah.
You and me both.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: mustang6172 on 26 Feb 2016, 17:52
I'm pretty sure Bubbles is just admiring the moon's aesthetics.  The amount of light coming through the window does suggest a full moon.

She's probably not looking at Space Station because NEO objects are only visible at dawn and dusk.  I'm assuming Station is in near Earth orbit based on pizza delivery time.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: SubaruStephen on 26 Feb 2016, 18:31
Speaking of pizza, it looks like Dominos is going all Snow Crash.

http://www.automobilemag.com/news/dominos-gets-into-the-car-business-with-dxp-pizza-delivery-vehicle/
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 26 Feb 2016, 18:32
This is how you mark the end of one book and the start of another.
 (... Wait... Wrong comic? )
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Penquin47 on 26 Feb 2016, 23:59
I just want to point out the awesome screen name/subtitle combo above me.

For posterity:
Perfectly Reasonable
Bizarre Cantaloupe Phobia
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Mr. Skawronska on 27 Feb 2016, 01:48
Bubbles says a lot without saying anything.

I've been there.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Welu on 27 Feb 2016, 02:26
As I left the door I noticed him lying under her bed. So I suppose there is some truth in checking under the bed for monsters.

Holy shit, that's terrifying. I assume he was kicked out of the room, or at least loudly called out on what he was doing?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Y on 27 Feb 2016, 06:34
Yeah, I told her we forgot someone. He got called out I remember, though he was somewhat asleep already.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Morituri on 27 Feb 2016, 08:11
And now I'm thinking of getting the T-shirt, of course.  It would say: 

Perfectly Reasonable
Bizarre Cantaloupe Phobia

If anybody asked, I could tell them that one line was a band name and the other an album title. 

I already have one that says
Perfectly Normal Human

... in flourescent purple, flashing LEDs, so I figure it would sort of be in-theme.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Method of Madness on 27 Feb 2016, 08:45
If anybody asked, I could tell them that one line was a band name and the other an album title.
Would that be true?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Mr_Rose on 27 Feb 2016, 13:46
If anybody asked, I could tell them that one line was a band name and the other an album title.
Would that be true?
I expect that depends on which line you claim is which….
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Tova on 27 Feb 2016, 15:24
Actually, the claim that one line was a band name and the other an album title would still be true (or false) regardless of which line you then went on to claim was the band name and which the album title.  8-)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Morituri on 27 Feb 2016, 18:44
It would sure be just as credible a claim either way.  Whether it was actually true or not would depend on whether I could convince anybody it would be fun to do on a lark. 

I mean, I've already got a 'Roadie' T-shirt for the almost-fictional band 'Incoherent Sushi' - which, AFAIK, played one gig.  Ever. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3161 to 3165 (22-26 February 2016)
Post by: Mad Cat on 28 Feb 2016, 13:01
Bubbles' panel makes me wistful.