Miscellaneous

Posted byRandall 206 Comments on Miscellaneous

Color Survey

People have made some fun things with the color survey data already.  Howard Yeend did a 3D visualization, Gissehel made some maps out of the raw data, and Rune Grimstad made a color picker tool.  Also, Jacob Rus nerd sniped me with this, which is not related to the color survey but I’m sharing it anyway.

School-Building

Breadpig, the publisher of the xkcd book, is holding a survey to see where people want Room to Read to invest their remaining profits from the book.  If you want to vote, it closes at noon EST on Monday.

xkcd: Mobile Version

If you read xkcd on your phone, or you just prefer simple pages without a lot of clutter, check out m.xkcd.com.  It has a nice, clean design and should be capable of showing the alt-text in any browser (even Lynx, which can’t even show the comic). Report any problems with the site to mobile@xkcd.com.  Thanks!

206 replies on “Miscellaneous”

  1. The symmetry between E and M is broken by an absence of magnetic monopoles: there’s no (known, easily-accessible) particle that would carry magnetic “charge” through vacuum the way electrons do in a vacuum tube.

    Similarly, permanent electrets pick up monopoles on either side of them, which cancel out the field they exert. Electrets are used in motion detectors (which are head-breaking little devices: extra heat from your body changes the shape of the electret, and a circuit detects the charge that rushes in to accommodate that shape change), but not in the electrostatic motors that MEMS designers build, because the environment shields their effects so very rapidly.

    BTW, the uhurisol would cure to form Japanese lacquer (AKA uhuri) after a fairly short time on the paper.

    Like

  3. I’m extremely happy to be able to get the alt-text on my phone now. Thank you for doing this.

    Like

  4. It has bothered me since the results of this colour survey came out, and I can no longer hold my silence.

    With the results of the survey it was stated that some data was dis-regarded as blatantly in there to screw up the results of the survey. I find fault with this methodology, because not once have I seen any reference to a single answer I gave. I gave these answers honestly and as accurately as I could. I was using the Roscolux colour system. http://www.rosco.com/canada/filters/roscolux.asp#colors

    Each Roscolux colour even has a Spectral Energy Distribution Curve chart with it. I thought you would be all over this. I am disappointed.

    *sigh*

    Like

  5. There were hundreds of thousands of people who responded – not everyone can be mentioned in that post!

    Like

  6. Pingback: Web Blog / The Color Strata & Other XKCD Color Study Visualizations by COLOURlovers :: COLOURlovers

  8. Colorblindness has always fascinated me. I wish I could see the world through a colorblind person’s eyes just for a day.

    What color would you call Africa and the Middle East? (Africa is yellow and the Middle East is green.)

    If you invert the colors, do they still look the same? Africa would be blue and the Middle East would be a purpley color. (Assuming you’re on Windows, paste the image in Paint and press Ctrl + I.)

    Like

  9. @Christopher Parker: I don’t think inverting colors changes much for the color blind. Of course it will look different, but colors that looked similar will still be similar. Maybe the nonlinearity of how inversion is usually done and of vision itself will influence things a bit though. If you want to show the difference where they can’t discriminate, you can feed colors through a matrix (channel mixer – or even cheap channel swapping if you can’t do the matrix). It will only be farther from normal to both yourself and color blind people, but it will change the lines in the color space along which the color blind can’t discriminate. So they can see there IS in fact a difference.

    But that’s only the technical side of it. I’m also quite curious how it is to be color blind. Those tools that collapse the color space into a plane along the same lines as color blind vision just don’t do justice. That just shows you where color blind people will have difficulty telling colors apart, not exactly how it’s experienced. Let alone the adaptations in vision resulting from color blindness.

    Speaking of vision, I’m waiting for a comic about how the iPhone 4’s ‘Retina’ display will still look pixelated to me, and others with excellent eyesight. Although it beats everything else by far (those 800×480 OLEDs are subpixels – it just doesn’t compare).

    Like

  10. I didn’t think our prereq tree at CNU was all that bad – although, to be fair, I did transfer in a lot of credits, so it’s entirely possible I missed a bunch of nastiness that others may have experienced at the 100- and 200-level.

    Like

  11. Pingback: The Color Strata & Other XKCD Color Data Visualizations « The Web Wealth

  13. i never thought i’d see a football (“soccer”) joke in xkcd!
    the world cup fever strikes again.

    Like

  14. For a miscellaneous blog post, a miscellaneous comment:

    I recently saw the binary heart comic, and it gave me an idea. Since a picture can be represented as a series of 1’s and 0’s, can it represent a picture of itself? I.e, can the picture binary form a picture of 1’s and 0’s that is identical to the picture data? In other words, is there a series of 1’s and 0’s which when interpreted as a picture with a certain file format produces a picture of 1’s and 0’s which make up the series?

    Ok, now that i’ve asked the question 3 ways to try to clarify it, I’m going to say probably not. Each 1 or 0 in the picture probably takes many, many 1’s and 0’s in the raw data, making it impossible for such a picture to exist. Well, ok. How about a series that repeats, which forms the picture of the series, i.e. a string of repeating numbers (like 101010101010) which forms a picture of the smallest repeating portion (10)? I have no idea.

    Enjoy the puzzle!

    Like

  15. Re: The Jacob Rus link…look at Figure 11. Really look at it.

    That’s just an electromagnetic Goatse.

    Figure 12 and 13 are now far more disturbing.

    My work here is done.

    Like

  16. Pingback: The Color Strata & Other XKCD Color Data Visualizations | iTrendStyle

  17. I recently saw the binary heart comic, and it gave me an idea. Since a picture can be represented as a series of 1’s and 0’s, can it represent a picture of itself? I.e, can the picture binary form a picture of 1’s and 0’s that is identical to the picture data? In other words, is there a series of 1’s and 0’s which when interpreted as a picture with a certain file format produces a picture of 1’s and 0’s which make up the series?

    Like

  18. It’s basically a quartz replica omega watch with a little slice cut out of the replica omega CONSTELLATION dial that shows an automatic movement which powers the second dial. The stainless steel replica omega DE VILLE watch is available in mens and ladies versions in rectangular and round shapes.Inside the replica omega SPEEDMASTER watch is Breitling’s Calibre 49 automatic movement – that is a replica IWC Swiss ETA 2896 automatic with a big date complication.In 1882 Heuer introduced his first chronograph, setting a benchmark for extreme accuracy that continues today, and by the early 20th century he had moved the chronograph from the pocket onto the wrist.Want the copy watches look

    Like

  19. re: #763 – I know the feeling. Until about 2002, when a certain relative took a job that required regular use of MS Office, her means of printing a document was to write it in Outlook Express, e-mail it to herself, and print the finished product.

    Like

  23. Like most anthropologists, I’ll tell you that “social science” is bullshit term we used in the 1970’s (or that sociologists still resort to.. ahem). Anthropology is a humanities discipline. Just wanted to clear that up with your hover comment thing. If you’re going to rag on us anthros, you may as well do it correctly. I’d recommend something along the lines of how anthropologists are academic ‘enablers’ of social atrocities. That’ll settle our hash.

    Like

  24. I’m trying to find the “Stand Back I’m Going to Do Science” comic, which is linked from the store to http://xkcd.com/208, but that is the “Regular Expression” one. Any idea where it is actually hidden?

    Like

  31. re: comic 765

    That guy isn’t a very good homeopath. Homeopathy is founded on the principle, “Let like be cured by like.” True homeopaths know that pregnancy is achieved by injecting a woman with a diluted solution of unfertilized eggs.

    Like

  32. actually, thomas, the principle is “the dose makes the venom”, from paracelsus

    Like

  33. What’s up with the comment spam showing up here (“TimCully” and the dada replica rolex advertisement)? Is Akismet not enabled on blog.xkcd.com?

    Like

  34. OH DEAR GERTRUDE, I HAVE SEVERED THE DOZEN BABOON COCKS- IS THE NEUTRINO SOUP READY? NAY, DEAR MARGARET, FOR AT CONSTANT TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURES THE SIZE OF MY FOREHEAD GROWS EXPONENTIALLY. PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THIS AS RANDALL MUNROE MUST FIND AND DECIPHER THIS MESSAGE. THIS IS PART OF THE MESSAGE. SO WAS THAT. SELF REFERENCE.

    Like

  36. Pingback: I Am, Therefore I Think

  39. You really shouldn’t post something that says “why are you still reading this”, because guess what, I’m bored, and I AM STILL READING THIS. So ha. You’ve just been foiled. Insomnia does these things. Also, because I’m aware that no one is reading this, it makes me sad that there is not jello in Dungeons and Dragons. Seriously, I’ve looked. You’re not allowed to have jello. It causes me great sadness that a tasty treat is not involved in such a random game. IN ADDITION, dinosaurs are afraid of jello. Such an unstable surface is not safe to fly, step, dig, claw, or slap into. So if anyone here really has an irrational fear of dinosaurs, just carry around a jello dart gun, and you will be fine. This theory hasn’t been tested yet though. I haven’t had jello in a few years. I’m now going to walk to a Smith’s. Ta da.

    Like

  40. I have to comment again because that would make 90 and I like even numbers.
    Also, in response to the actual subject, I’m female, and all ridiculously elaborate names for colors are, in fact, ridiculous. Like the fact that Saka is back, NOBODY CARES.
    Have a very merry unbirthday.

    Like

  42. The above advertisement is baffling… it outright tells you its own site is unsafe. Though it does get the link out there.

    Also what’s with the Rolex replica advertisements? That’s just stupid. Is there that much demand for fake watches, that it pays of to disguise your spam as opportunities to buy them? It makes no sense. Whichever spammer came up with that hosecrap is a moron.

    Like

  46. I’m a lot of things, but a cunt? No, not really. Also, I don’t think those know how to type so…Yeah…

    Like

  49. OH DEAR GERTRUDE,(dofus kamas) I HAVE SEVERED THE DOZEN BABOON COCKS- IS THE NEUTRINO SOUP READY? NAY, DEAR MARGARET, FOR AT CONSTANT TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURES THE SIZE OF MY FOREHEAD GROWS EXPONENTIALLY. PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THIS AS RANDALL MUNROE MUST FIND AND DECIPHER THIS MESSAGE. THIS IS PART OF THE MESSAGE. SO WAS THAT. SELF REFERENCE.

    Like

  50. I’m not a cunt I’m a twat, you insensitive clod!

    And Kayte sounds like she ate some awesome blueberries. Dohoh!

    What else is good is watermelon on wednesdays.

    Why did the bear take the pencil on a date? Blueberries, that’s why.

    Like

Comments are closed.