tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post1465516081687607935..comments2024-03-17T05:03:46.056-07:00Comments on xkcd sucks: Comic 792: Blog Post ReuseCarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-4264781522328461882010-10-19T15:05:56.225-07:002010-10-19T15:05:56.225-07:00Heaven's Gate? Huh, I thought the joke was tha...Heaven's Gate? Huh, I thought the joke was that Black Hat's a subgenius, but it looks like X-day was July 1998. I don't know, I liked it better when I thought it was a nerd in-joke rather than "Ha Ha, Black Hat kills people!".Thrawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11317737785529300111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-23621747513544716002010-09-18T22:27:35.999-07:002010-09-18T22:27:35.999-07:00psst...net neutrality takes an unregulated interne...psst...net neutrality takes an unregulated internet and makes it regulated. THAT'S evil. Agreeing to stop the stupid "hey let's get the government to tell people what to do!...for freedom" fetish was a good move.<br /><br />A pro-freedom and speech move.<br /><br />Not that Google did it for that reason...they like cash. But cash is ok!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-75575968033747361142010-09-17T21:21:30.501-07:002010-09-17T21:21:30.501-07:00David, point, set and match. If you need me, I'...David, point, set and match. If you need me, I'm at the next post.<br /><br />Ciao,<br /><br />MoleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-28050402199410392862010-09-17T18:42:35.730-07:002010-09-17T18:42:35.730-07:00italics<i>italics</i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-7879559047512749572010-09-17T13:56:55.570-07:002010-09-17T13:56:55.570-07:00This comic was TL, DR.This comic was TL, DR.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-42244821502110148052010-09-17T12:41:47.952-07:002010-09-17T12:41:47.952-07:00@david see the fun part is that everyone knows exa...@david see the fun part is that everyone knows exactly what randall was <em>trying</em> to do and we have since moved past that<br /><br />my point is that what randall was <em>trying</em> to do was in fact classless pointless and immature<br /><br />it is pretty obvious that the line is there to appeal to his target audience but when is the last time anybody here had anything good to say about randys readership <em>seriously</em> aligning your opinions with theirs is just asking to be mocked old buddy old pal old chum<br /><br />@scott illiterate and unreasonable are completely different things and i promise that i have been unreasonable for a while nowUndercoverCuddlefishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-45956046721415696742010-09-17T11:58:05.508-07:002010-09-17T11:58:05.508-07:00"1) I said "widely considered to be anno..."1) I said "widely considered to be annoying (especially among his clientele)".<br />But more importantly, I was talking about what he was aiming for (deductable by the "trying to mention a group that's" right in front of it), not if he actually succeeded in picking a good example."<br /><br />Did UC and Mole become illiterate when I wasn't looking?ScottMcSHUTTHEFUCKUTonynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-658915969199042402010-09-17T10:27:46.556-07:002010-09-17T10:27:46.556-07:00"I can see why he's using 'liberal ar..."I can see why he's using 'liberal arts majors' in the text; he's trying to mention a group that's widely considered to be annoying (especially among his clientele) only to say that physicists can be worse than them."<br /><br />This is what I originally said. There is no personal opinion in it, it says: Randall's trying to do something. In this case, he's *trying to mention a group that's widely considered to be annoying*. He's trying.<br /><br />Then you come along and say "But nobody finds liberal arts majors annoying!"<br />So I say "Well I do, at least based on what comes to my mind when I hear that term (and I don't really know if that's the correct meaning). As long as the target group thinks similar to me, the sentence works". And this is actually quite possible because everyone seems to think of the humanities at first, and the target group thinks those are smug (we're in agreement on this, I believe).<br /><br />There are no stupid personal opinions. There is nothing that is sold as a fact. And if I repeat my arguments, it's because you keep repeating yourself, saying I'm declaring personal opinions as facts.<br /><br />By the way, I think "I'll leave you to your definition of PPD" is an extremely weak reply, when we were mainly talking about whether the text is necessary or not and I was explaining to you that the text is basically repeating the joke of the comic.<br />Just as weak as reducing the dialogue of the physicist to being "stilted" in order to make it sound as if that was the only thing I could possibly mean when I say that his speech is typical for a physicist. What's typical is the method he's using (make it simple, calculate that, then add some factors for the non-simplicity of the original problem), not his rhetorical skills.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-39655839367863596052010-09-17T04:46:28.219-07:002010-09-17T04:46:28.219-07:00David, your problem is that you're taking a si...David, your problem is that you're taking a simple premise ("simply explaining something about which there was an amount of confusion") and then making it complicated by adding your stupid personal opinions as if they're fact.<br /><br />"(especially for his clientele)" is a complementary, not a qualifier(if you said, instead, "widely considered to be annoying by his clientèle", I'd be fine). In the end, what you said is, effectively, that liberal arts majors are widely considered to be annoying. That they're considered annoying by Randall's readers is obvious. That they're widely(i.e., in general, not only by Randall's fandom) considered so, is obviously false. They're not more considered annoying than majors in general, I reckon.<br /><br />"as long as people who major in Liberal Arts include smug people who'd brag about how intellectual they are" So, as long as you can completely ignore what a liberal arts major is and apply your own definition to the phrase, then it's true. What's your last name, Humpty-Dumpty?<br /><br />Regarding the obviousness of the right one being a physicist because of his speech... I never met a physicist or heard an account of a physicist that talked like that. So you're probably hanging around the worst of them, those who talk in dialogue so stilted you might think they've never been around a human being in their life.<br /><br />I'll just leave you with your definition of PPD. Whatever.<br /><br />And now, to make the famous "turn back your line against yourself", when your side lost an argument, you sometimes just have to let it go, instead of repeating the same thing over and over again. You're not making your argument any more solid, buddy.<br /><br />'Iorana<br /><br />MoleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-63343314885938231172010-09-17T03:45:23.684-07:002010-09-17T03:45:23.684-07:00wait when did i have a side in an argument
if you...wait when did i have a side in an argument<br /><br />if you don't actually find liberal arts majors in particular to be more annoying than any other group of people then i am sure you will concede that the line is actually completely pointless<br /><br />but you said "that line...works" so you apparently think it is reasonable to judge an entire group by its most extreme examples<br /><br />oh okay i get where you are coming from here have a friendship bracelet we are going to get along so wellUndercoverCuddlefishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-34548806249935885412010-09-17T01:10:12.430-07:002010-09-17T01:10:12.430-07:00@UC
Captain Obvious? I never said one area has mor...@UC<br />Captain Obvious? I never said one area has more annoying students than others, where the hell do you get that from?<br />Seriously, you guys act as if I said something completely ignorant and unreasonable, when I was simply explaining something about which there was an amount of confusion ("is the left guy a liberal arts major or why do they get mentioned in the text?").<br /><br />If your side lost an argument, you sometimes just have to accept that, especially when the other side repeatedly explained to you why it was stupid of you to start the argument in the first place.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-34124994519205209212010-09-16T19:31:58.476-07:002010-09-16T19:31:58.476-07:00@david there are annoying people in every field an...@david there are annoying people in every field and saying that students in any one area are more annoying than students in any other is just stupid<br /><br />i laugh at anybody that thinks there are more "smug people who brag about how intellectual they are" in the liberal arts than in any other category <em>those people are literally fucking everywhere</em><br /><br />like i find you insufferable for exampleUndercoverCuddlefishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-60226467490431358362010-09-16T17:35:41.280-07:002010-09-16T17:35:41.280-07:00Funnily enough, based on several definitions poste...Funnily enough, based on several definitions posted here "liberal arts" is pretty much what, before the mid-1800s or so, would be called "science".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-75771651607075832252010-09-16T17:06:02.174-07:002010-09-16T17:06:02.174-07:00Anon 8:35/3:58 (well done):
Actually, the way Rand...Anon 8:35/3:58 (well done):<br />Actually, the way Randall is using the term it seems as if "Liberal Arts" was in fact a specific combination of courses you can take at some schools. I don't know, but it seems possible, and would go well with the image we have of Randall - they'd study physics and mathematics, but not exclusively, ergo they're not real scientists etc.<br />That seems like the most logical solution for all this, because I have to agree that, at least in his disclaimer, his usage of the term would be very strange otherwise.<br /><br />Mole:<br /><br />1) I said "widely considered to be annoying (especially among his clientele)".<br />But more importantly, I was talking about what he was aiming for (deductable by the "trying to mention a group that's" right in front of it), not if he actually succeeded in picking a good example.<br /><br />2) He says Liberal Arts majors can be annoying, and I say that personally, I can agree with that, as long as people who major in Liberal Arts include smug people who'd brag about how intellectual they are, because that's something I find annoying. I'm not trying to sell you facts, I'm trying to say that as long as Randall's readers have a similar opinion like mine, that line about Liberal Arts majors works.<br />(Although I still think that whole text isn't necessary.)<br /><br />3) The title says "Physicists". So actually, both of them could be physicists. That wouldn't ruin the joke, because there are different fields of physics. You *could* think that the left one is the physicist, but then the comic doesn't make a lot of sense. Also, the right guy's speech really is quite typical for physicists, so the people xkcd is catered to should be able to immediately recognize who the physicist mentioned in the title is.<br /><br />4) What you see as a punchline is just the explanation of the joke. "Physicists can be obnoxious and smug" is exactly what you get from the comic already, and I fail to see why you think it's necessary to explicitly write it down.<br />Concerning the "no punchline, no PPD" thing: Like I said, I'm using Carl's definition of PPD, and he's often tagged comics as PPD where you didn't have a clear punchline (e.g. 786, 775). Now, I *could* say that the physicist's lines are a punchline, or maybe the "anger smoke" above the left guy is; but I just don't feel like this is a comic where the joke is presented as a punchline. The point is that the joke has been told, and the text isn't necessary (see above reasons), and we don't want a new category "post-joke dialog" and therefore I'm saying this is a case of PPD.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-67176860564005381082010-09-16T16:49:40.150-07:002010-09-16T16:49:40.150-07:00UC, you're such a lovely person I don't kn...UC, you're such a lovely person I don't know if I should punch you or choke you to death.<br /><br />Au revoir<br /><br />MoleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-84321232787035291322010-09-16T16:14:52.371-07:002010-09-16T16:14:52.371-07:00@everybody stop saying clientele
tia@everybody stop saying clientele<br /><br /><em>tia</em>UndercoverCuddlefishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-81996110228096498902010-09-16T16:02:31.515-07:002010-09-16T16:02:31.515-07:00David:
1. Ideally, no one. But you said "wid...David:<br /><br />1. Ideally, no one. But you said "widely considered to be annoying". I'm not talking about the joke, I'm talking about what you said. My point: liberal arts majors aren't widely considered annoying, except among Randall's clientele.<br /><br />2. How that contributes to the point you're making, I fail to realize. You're entitled to have your opinion, but that doesn't make it a fact. Besides, pretty much any field of study you're allowed to call yourself an intellectual, no?<br /><br />3. It's mentioned someone is a physicist. Could be the other guy, look at that board: it's full of diagrams and equations. Or maybe someone is mentioning a physicist. Another point in case: the title shouldn't be needed to understand the comic, it should at most encapsulate the comic so one can find it later in the archives. Thus, the caption is still necessary.<br /><br />4. First, I'll say again there is a punchline. Second: you said the caption is post-punchline dialogue. PPD requires a punchline by definition. So, if there isn't a real punchline, no real PPD.<br /><br />Also, the caption is fundamental for the reader to realize what the heck is going on. Without the caption, can you tell that templated speech is a mocking of a physicist talking to someone about a field he's not familiar with? If yes, how? What else in the comic implies that conclusion?<br /><br />Hasta luego<br /><br />MoleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-46698879159735254202010-09-16T15:58:04.495-07:002010-09-16T15:58:04.495-07:00@David (I'm 8:35)
I know somebody put a defini...@David (I'm 8:35)<br />I know somebody put a definition on Wikipedia. It doesn't change the fact that in modern English the phrase "liberal arts" means different things to different people. <br /><br />Randall, for example, has a cute disclaimer on his webcomic that says the "advanced" (that's a laugh) mathematics you might encounter there are "inappropriate for liberal arts majors." But the Wikipedia definition you posted continues to say: <br /><br />"The contemporary liberal arts comprise studying literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science."<br /><br />So do you think that Randy doesn't believe mathematicians and scientists can understand his high school math jokes? Of course not. To him, and to others, liberal arts basically implies that a major isn't math, science, or an applied math/science.<br /><br />He isn't saying "people with university degrees other than nursing/accounting/whatever" are annoying. He isn't saying that they're more or less obnoxious than people who studied a vocation-based subject or who went to trade school. He's talking about history/English/French/economics/political science/whatever majors. And there is no stereotype that this group is more or less annoying than physicists, roofers, or anybody else. <br /><br />This is just one more shot at people who didn't study what Randy did, not echoing some "widely held belief" in the public consciousness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-52469286044653293252010-09-16T14:26:04.694-07:002010-09-16T14:26:04.694-07:00Mole:
1. Who else but Randall's clientele nee...Mole:<br /><br />1. Who else but Randall's clientele needs to find liberal arts majors annoying for the joke to succeed among his clientele?<br />2. I have plenty of reasons to find literature and philosophy students very annoying, just like any field of study where you're allowed to call yourself an intellectual.<br />3. It is mentioned in the title of the comic that he's a physicist.<br />4. Well, there is no real punchline, but the funny bit about the comic is the physicist's exaggerated speech with the spaces in it. Anything after that which doesn't make it even funnier is, according to Carl's defintion, post-punchline dialog. Sorry.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-27249112086302826132010-09-16T14:12:29.830-07:002010-09-16T14:12:29.830-07:00@Anon 8:35
From Wikipedia:
"The term liberal ...@Anon 8:35<br />From Wikipedia:<br />"The term liberal arts denotes a curriculum that imparts general knowledge and develops the student’s rational thought and intellectual capabilities, unlike the professional, vocational and technical curricula emphasizing specialization."<br /><br />It's not really important which studies are in there exactly; what's important is that even this little definition already sounds arrogant as fuck. "I'm a liberal arts major - my skills at rational thought, my intellectual capabilities and/or my general knowledge are superior to yours!"<br /><br />Including physics in the liberal arts doesn't change a thing. The text would then simply say "Generally speaking, liberal arts people can be annoying. Nothing, however, beats that group of liberal arts people called physicists."Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-6267570037352753242010-09-16T13:50:58.032-07:002010-09-16T13:50:58.032-07:00"In the 5th century AD, Martianus Capella def..."In the 5th century AD, Martianus Capella defined the seven Liberal Arts as: grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music" -- Wikipedia<br /><br />Oddly enough, any sort of art I'd expect to find on that definition isn't here. Huh.<br /><br />So, anyway... David, two things:<br /><br />- "However, I can see why he's using "liberal arts majors" in the text; he's trying to mention a group that's widely considered to be annoying"<br /><br />Hello? Beyond Randall's "clientele", who else considers liberal arts majors inherently annoying? How "wide" can that group be considered? Please follow me here: Randall created a straw man of a liberal arts major. Real liberal arts majors aren't "widely" considered annoying, except maybe by freshmen hard science majors(I've been there!).<br /><br />- "The text beneath the comic is typical post-punchline dialog, if you ask me. It's not necessary, and it doesn't add anything to the joke."<br /><br />But David, how are we going to know that person is a physicist? Remember, we're talking aobut Randall "I can't make discernible characters to save my life" Munroe. With him, either you get a hat, a label or a caption. Also, the punchline IS in the caption: physicists are annoying, because even when talking about a field they have no idea about, they are smug. Haw haw! It's bad, but that is the punchline. I don't know what you thought was the punchline there.<br /><br />Da boch chi<br /><br />MoleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-51484816727869573692010-09-16T13:37:36.546-07:002010-09-16T13:37:36.546-07:00"Liberal arts major" is an anachronism t..."Liberal arts major" is an anachronism that should've gone out with "co-ed". "Liberal arts college" is still relevant, but Randall went to one of those. BA degrees in hard sciences aren't uncommon. The classical liberal arts include what are now considered hard sciences. Engineering/applied physics is certainly not a liberal art in any sense, but is open for ridicule by "real scientists".<br /><br />The go to majors for ridicule now are probably Communications, Exercise Science, and Gender/Ethnic Studies (which is especially ridiculed by conservatives). Business majors specialize in bullshit, but don't get as much ridicule as I would like.Sepianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-49696117868484702322010-09-16T13:24:35.425-07:002010-09-16T13:24:35.425-07:00i always just assume that when randy says "li...i always just assume that when randy says "liberal arts" he means that the degree is a bachelor of arts degree rather than bachelor of science<br /><br />then i realize that no matter what he means he is just an ignorant twenty something without enough knowledge or talent to actually work in the areas he expresses so much interest in (this is why he makes terrible webcomics for a living instead)<br /><br />i wonder if <em>making bad webcomics</em> is a liberal artUndercoverCuddlefishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-76204430818292662612010-09-16T11:44:36.730-07:002010-09-16T11:44:36.730-07:00@11:02
It's got more than a few definitions. ...@11:02<br /><br />It's got more than a few definitions. To Randy, it seems to be code for majors other than CS/chem/physics/math/engineering. And to major in anything else (or, god forbid, not have a university degree)is proof that you simply aren't as capable of those majors. <br /><br />And if someone tells you they studied something else because they have a passion for art or public service, or they can make more money elsewhere, they're lying. They just weren't smart enough to get an "applied physics" (whatever that entails) degree and sell T-shirts to high school kids looking for nerd cred.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-26336877362351509272010-09-16T11:02:06.486-07:002010-09-16T11:02:06.486-07:00I did wonder what liberal arts meant-
So is 'l...I did wonder what liberal arts meant-<br />So is 'liberal arts' just some kind of straw man ranDull uses to avoid ragging on any particular degree?<br /><br />except anthro<br /><br />zing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com