Topic: WCDT: 2236-40 (23-27 July 2012) Weekly Comic Discussion Thread (Read 51672 times)

~~cesariojpn~~ · « **Reply #100 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 02:32 »

Quote from: ihaveavoice on 25 Jul 2012, 01:10

Looks like she's got a nice cute curly 'fro goin' on!

Not as cool as Nabeshin's fro.

Tova · « **Reply #101 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 03:25 »

Quote from: T on 24 Jul 2012, 23:29

That would be the "crazy explanation" some sort of quantic coincidence!

Actually...

As to the Padma 2.0 conjecture... if I see evidence beyond a one-off gag, then I'll believe it.

DSL · « **Reply #102 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 03:33 »

Quote from: Boomslang on 25 Jul 2012, 01:45

... I'm assuming she's just pulling Momo's leg here ...

That's next. Unless ... TZZZZAP

Quote from: Boomslang on 25 Jul 2012, 01:45

... 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)!"

Tova · « **Reply #103 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 03:56 »

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!

Boomslang · « **Reply #104 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 04:58 »

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.

Tova · « **Reply #105 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 05:04 »

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.

Mothykins · « **Reply #106 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 05:07 »

You guys are way over-analyzing this comic.

And it hurts my brain.

:(

Rimwolf · « **Reply #107 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 05:43 »

Emily is weird. I really like Emily.

jwhouk · « **Reply #108 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 06:19 »

WAY over-analyzing the comic is what we do around here! It's a comic DISCUSSION thread, after all!

DSL · « **Reply #109 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 06:26 »

Sometimes we overanalyze each other's over-analysis!

Somebody · « **Reply #110 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 06:42 »

Quote from: Mad Cat on 24 Jul 2012, 08:02

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."

Carl-E · « **Reply #111 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 07:00 »

Quote from: Boomslang on 25 Jul 2012, 04:58

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...

Quote

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!

Mothykins · « **Reply #112 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 07:26 »

Quote from: Carl-E on 25 Jul 2012, 07:00

Quote from: Boomslang on 25 Jul 2012, 04:58
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...

Quote
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!

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.

pwhodges · « **Reply #113 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 07:35 »

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).

Redball · « **Reply #114 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 08:04 »

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?

Carl-E · « **Reply #115 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 08:05 »

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.

When's your birthday? I'll see if I can arrange something for you...

Boomslang · « **Reply #116 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 08:29 »

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.

Omega Entity · « **Reply #117 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 08:37 »

Quote from: ihaveavoice on 25 Jul 2012, 01:10

Also, I love that ~~Emily~~ Claire has frizz from the humidity. It's the kind of detail that makes a world more real.

FYP

jmucchiello · « **Reply #118 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 08:43 »

Quote from: Carl-E on 25 Jul 2012, 08:05

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).

Mothykins · « **Reply #119 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 09:00 »

One thing I know for sure, through all of this:

Geek culture is FUN.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #120 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 09:02 »

Quote from: Mothykins on 25 Jul 2012, 05:07

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.

akronnick · « **Reply #121 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 09:10 »

Quote from: Mothykins on 25 Jul 2012, 05:07

You guys are way over-analyzing this comic.

And it hurts my brain.

Yer not from aroun' here, are ya?

Throg · « **Reply #122 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 09:19 »

Jeph pulled trollface.jpg.

It was super-effective.

Read Emily's last line in Osaka's voice. desu desu desu

Method of Madness · « **Reply #123 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 09:58 »

Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 25 Jul 2012, 09:02

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?

Near Lurker · « **Reply #124 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 10:19 »

...this is actually harder to believe than a talking robot.

Mothykins · « **Reply #125 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 11:14 »

Quote from: akronnick on 25 Jul 2012, 09:10

Quote from: Mothykins on 25 Jul 2012, 05:07
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~

(I regret ~~everything~~ nothing)

ASDF I should get some sleep before I say something stupid(er).

Mr_Rose · « **Reply #126 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 11:33 »

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.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #127 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 12:06 »

They aren't the same thing?

pwhodges · « **Reply #128 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 12:25 »

They are, as was mentioned a couple of weeks ago when Nano appeared in a filler comic.

~~cesariojpn~~ · « **Reply #129 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 15:39 »

Quote from: Method of Madness on 25 Jul 2012, 09:58

Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 25 Jul 2012, 09:02
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?

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #130 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 16:29 »

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.

Akima · « **Reply #131 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 16:38 »

Quote from: ihaveavoice on 25 Jul 2012, 01:10

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.

Quote from: Carl-E on 25 Jul 2012, 08:05

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.

*I don't actually know the probability of being struck by a meteor. Edit: Adjusted for Akronnick's post below.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #132 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 16:40 »

NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!

akronnick · « **Reply #133 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 17:35 »

Odds of dying by asteroid impact: 1 in 700,000

Quote from: Phil Plait, The Bad Astronomer

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.

Tova · « **Reply #134 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 17:49 »

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.

Asterus · « **Reply #135 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 20:38 »

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

cesium133 · « **Reply #136 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 21:15 »

Quote from: Asterus on 25 Jul 2012, 20:38

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.

Near Lurker · « **Reply #137 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 21:19 »

...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.

~~cesariojpn~~ · « **Reply #138 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 22:42 »

I remember the roll of duct tape!! It was in strip.....strip.....uh........

Near Lurker · « **Reply #139 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 23:07 »

You know, Faye being Faye is one thing, but Marten really is being astoundingly creepy about all this.

Soulsynger · « **Reply #140 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 23:32 »

That isn't gagging, Marten, thats pretty much assault. °O
(Wouldn't wanna rip that one off, no sir.)

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #141 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 23:35 »

1654.

Is Marten being creepy in context? The characters don't seem to have the concept of "boundaries" the way other people do.

HiFranc · « **Reply #142 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 23:42 »

I thought that Faye liked being the Dom?

<< ducks for cover

~~mustang6172~~ · « **Reply #143 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 23:44 »

Why do all Coffee of Doom employees have identical handwriting?

pwhodges · « **Reply #144 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 23:57 »

Jeph might know...

Tova · « **Reply #145 on:** 25 Jul 2012, 23:59 »

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.

Kugai · « **Reply #146 on:** 26 Jul 2012, 00:03 »

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

TinPenguin · « **Reply #147 on:** 26 Jul 2012, 00:28 »

Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 25 Jul 2012, 23:35

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)

pwhodges · « **Reply #148 on:** 26 Jul 2012, 00:37 »

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!

CompSarge · « **Reply #149 on:** 26 Jul 2012, 01:00 »

Quote from: Somebody on 25 Jul 2012, 06:42

Quote from: Mad Cat on 24 Jul 2012, 08:02
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?

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Poll

Oh gee, something we haven't done for a while: What was the MOMENT OF THE WEEK?

Author Topic: WCDT: 2236-40 (23-27 July 2012) Weekly Comic Discussion Thread (Read 51672 times)