Comments on: XKCD speaks truth

By: Tim G

Tim G — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:32:11 +0000

This is a test to see what HTML tags I can use:

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By: Astrogeek

Astrogeek — Tue, 08 May 2007 15:21:51 +0000

Mark;

I find the whole idea of filing a bug report with God is funny as hell. I can just imagine the next panel, with God saying: “Evolution will fix that in the next hundred generations. In the meantime, there is a work-around available at http://www.skeptic.org.“

By: L Ron Hubbub

L Ron Hubbub — Tue, 08 May 2007 12:54:05 +0000

More humorous is watching you gearheads biopsy a cartoon. It’s a freakin’ joke, kids.

ROFL!!!11!ONE Irony alert!!ELEVEN! He mentions teh god!!1! FSM wins the Internets!!1!ELEVENTY!One

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 08 May 2007 12:45:42 +0000

“Graft” is Brit speak for hard work, not corruption.
Cheers

By: This applies to so many things. by Schierer Space

This applies to so many things. by Schierer Space — Tue, 08 May 2007 12:02:17 +0000

[...] to Bad Astronomy for pointing out this cartoon. As I’m not in the same place as Mr. BA on the effectiveness of [...]

By: yy2bggggs

yy2bggggs — Tue, 08 May 2007 05:56:44 +0000

Mark:

The decision of whether or not to fix the change and incorporate it into the next version is not necessarily up to God; it must be discussed at the next SCCB meeting by the SCCB. God can only work on approved change requests.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_configuration_management/MEE

By: Mark Hansen

Mark Hansen — Tue, 08 May 2007 05:11:32 +0000

Thrall, I think that is what Phil et al mean. Our disgruntled friend in the last panel is submitting a bug report and the bug report is what won’t work i.e. will be ignored. Which is probably why the cartoon ends there. Which way does it go from there? God says “OK my child, bug will be eliminated at our next scheduled update”? Or God says “I’m sorry, tech support hours are 9 – 5. Please pray back then”? The joke works better left unfinished.

By: Thrall

Thrall — Tue, 08 May 2007 04:35:55 +0000

Are you guys serious? The last panel is a joke. XKCD is a comic aimed towards geeks, if you were a computer geek you would know what a bug report is. A bug report is where you, report bugs (duh). It’s a joke because he is saying that human who believes in 9/11 conspiracies is a bug. It is nothing to do with prayer working..JESUS.

By: HvP

HvP — Tue, 08 May 2007 04:07:33 +0000

This is something I have to keep in mind on a daily basis. You see, I happen to work at “The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza,” and I’m asked some pretty wacky questions. While it’s essential to state the facts as responsibly as possible, it is also necessary to politely short-circuit leading questions before they snowball into a public relations meltdown. Something tells me though I think I should avoid the XKCD approach.

By: Buzz Parsec

Buzz Parsec — Tue, 08 May 2007 04:04:34 +0000

Conspiracy theories are obviously promoted by the media, the NSA and the Pizza Hut corporation to distract attention from their evil plot to …

Uh, Tacitus, “graft and toil” ???

By: tacitus

tacitus — Tue, 08 May 2007 02:09:49 +0000

In my experience conspiracy theorists thrive on the notion that they have some kind of special insight or intuition into life, science, or events that the rest of us are unable to see. It makes them feel special, allowing them believe that the Universe has more to it than our normal, humdrum existence.

Why should Mars be a barren planet of interest only to geologists when it might hold the key to an ancient and powerful alien civilization? Who needs a simple, rational explanation for the success of a terrorist plot, when you can conjure up events, plot twists and conspiracies to rival the best Tom Clancy thriller?

The truth is that very few people are blessed to be in the right place at the right time to add something of significance to humanity’s body of knowledge, and usually only after years of graft and toil. Conspiracy theories and pseudoscience go hand-in-hand in that they provide an apparent short cut for those who believe in them, a way to feel special without putting in the effort usually required.

By: John W. Kennedy

John W. Kennedy — Tue, 08 May 2007 01:44:21 +0000

It ain’t just science, you know. Try dealing with a Shakespeare denier, or one of the “Michael O’Hare was fired from ‘Babylon 5′ against his will” crowd.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Tue, 08 May 2007 01:41:53 +0000

I’m convinced that conspiracy theories are the result of that proletariat feeling of helplessness and irrelevance that I read so much about whilst taking sociology in college. Kind of like religious fundamentalism, conspiracy theories give people the chance to be right, to be experts and to feel, in some small measure, superior to a world that disappoints them.

Then again, I could have just pulled that out of my ass.

By: Quiet_Desperation

Quiet_Desperation — Tue, 08 May 2007 01:22:33 +0000

>> I find it rather ironic that those who deny the â€œofficial storyâ€
>> of 9/11 are called â€œconspiracy theoristsâ€. After all, the offical
>> story is itself a conspiracy theory, isnâ€™t it?

It involves a different conspiracy, though, involving Bush and controlled explosions and aliens and aliens and… I’ve lost track.

This is just metadiscussion and obfuscates the real issues.

And… wait a minute… WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR! TALK!!

By: Keith Thompson

Keith Thompson — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:49:14 +0000

I find it rather ironic that those who deny the “official story” of 9/11 are called “conspiracy theorists”. After all, the offical story is itself a conspiracy theory, isn’t it?

I’m not commenting on whether it’s accurate, or how many holes it may have, just observing that the official story involves a criminal conspiracy by members of Al Qaeda. Perhaps we need a more precise term than “conspiracy theory” for things like the Moon landing hoax delusion, but I’m not sure what it should be.

(To be very clear, the term “delusion” here refers to the idea that the Moon landings were a hoax.)

By: Swordfish

Swordfish — Mon, 07 May 2007 22:22:16 +0000

There’s quite a discussion going on about this over at the xkcd forums, and actually your name has been thrown around once or twice, Phil. The only thing is, I think that last panel is simply for the humor of referring to the CT as a “bug,” nothing else.

By: Lucretia

Lucretia — Mon, 07 May 2007 21:34:22 +0000

All in favor of my Joe vs. Phil comic making it into a blog entry say aye!

By: Rasputin

Rasputin — Mon, 07 May 2007 21:03:58 +0000

When I first saw it this morning, I mistakenly thought it was the denialist who was filing a bug report. Somehow, I think it’s funnier that way.

By: thaumaturge

thaumaturge — Mon, 07 May 2007 21:00:59 +0000

That last panel is something called the “punchline.”

By: yd

yd — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:55:08 +0000

Great comic – I immediately thought of you and the gang at the Skeptic’s Guide when I saw it.

By: AgnosticOracle

AgnosticOracle — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:47:48 +0000

When I saw it earlier today it had me wondering if the irony in the last panel is intentional or not.