# Another "explain this xkcd" request \[July 20\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2012, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824 "2012-07-20T07:47:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/21 "2012-07-20T18:07:07Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > once the computers have become sentient and superintelligent, you can just politely ask it to fix itself. Actually, he probably set back the Singularity by ten years or so. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/22 "2012-07-20T18:18:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So, if I understand the explanations correctly, the set-up is the woman typed in a command that should be really basic and the man has screwed up the computer so badly is can’t handle even this basic command - in other words he’s screwed up the computer in a way that shouldn’t be physically possible. Leading to the punchline, which as I said, I understood. The closest thing I can think of is calling a repairman to look at your furnace because the pilot won’t light after you tried to repair it yourself, and he finds a miniature nuclear reactor where the burner used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/23 "2012-07-20T18:23:05Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I can’t get over how funny that is. And I can’t get over how unfunny it is. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/24 "2012-07-20T18:25:22Z")
Stupid locked-down work computers. Would someone tell me what the mouseover is? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/25 "2012-07-20T18:41:41Z")
> [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](#): > > [Another "explain this xkcd" request [July 20] - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=659181) > [@Marley23](#): > > Merged two threads about this comic, which I probably won’t get no matter how many times I read the explanations. Damnit Marley! I am stuck in an infinite loop now! ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/26 "2012-07-20T18:43:20Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > Stupid locked-down work computers. > > Would someone tell me what the mouseover is? > [@](#): > > “Protip: Annoy Ray Kurzweil by always referring to it as the ‘Cybersingularity’.” Not really much help. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/27 "2012-07-20T18:48:06Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Not really much help. Thank you anyway! ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/28 "2012-07-20T19:00:07Z")
I didn’t get it either, because I’m not a Unix man, but come on, guys, lighten up. So some of the jokes are specialized. You know what? When Randall hits YOUR area of specialty, you’ll appreciate it like Unix people enjoyed this one. “Little Bobby Tables.” Heh, heh, heh. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/29 "2012-07-20T19:13:17Z")
I mistook “ls” for “is” when reading the comic the first time so I was really confused. Now that I understand it is the unix command “ls” the comic is only marginally better. This one is definitely lacking in the humor department. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/30 "2012-07-20T20:18:23Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > I mistook “ls” for “is” when reading the comic the first time so I was really confused. Now that I understand it is the unix command “ls” the comic is only marginally better. This one is definitely lacking in the humor department. Matter of taste. I found it quite funny. I was considering printing it out and sticking it up on my cube wall, in fact. (Right next to [Password Strength](http://xkcd.com/936/), as a further commentary on my workplace and coworkers.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/31 "2012-07-20T20:23:36Z")
It will only ‘speak’ to a limited audience. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/32 "2012-07-20T21:09:05Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > So some of the jokes are specialized. You know what? When Randall hits YOUR area of specialty, you’ll appreciate it like Unix people enjoyed this one. But I’ve been reading his strip for years and he’s never told a good prison guard joke yet. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/33 "2012-07-20T21:12:02Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Merged two threads about this comic, which I probably won’t get no matter how many times I read the explanations. The joke is, the guy’s computer is _really_ fucked up, ludicrously so. That should be a simple enough explanation for anyone. It’s the same sort of joke as if a clumsy fellow went in for X-rays for minor pain and found they had in fact somehow managed to tie their bones in a pretzel. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/34 "2012-07-20T21:19:33Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The closest thing I can think of is calling a repairman to look at your furnace because the pilot won’t light after you tried to repair it yourself, and he finds a miniature nuclear reactor where the burner used to be. Kudos, **TriPolar** for your explanation being funnier than the original comic. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/35 "2012-07-20T21:20:32Z")
It is really _not_ hard to do what he did: alias ls=’/usr/share/Adobe/doc/example/android\_vm/root/sbin/ls.jar’ would do it (it might not return that error message, but aliasing the ls command is trivial. I always have ls aliased to ‘ls -la’ anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/36 "2012-07-20T21:23:36Z")
Right, although the joke is that he presumably reached that state unintentionally. That might be a bit harder. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/37 "2012-07-20T21:40:57Z")
[More discussion](http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=87602&sid=03c1ce51c5229832f20d2952e9f7f3b9) on the xkcd forums. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/38 "2012-07-20T23:31:57Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It is really _not_ hard to do what he did: > alias ls=‘/usr/share/Adobe/doc/example/android\_vm/root/sbin/ls.jar’ would do it (it might not return that error message, but aliasing the ls command is trivial. I always have ls aliased to ‘ls -la’ anyway. Aliasing ls is easy, yes. It will definitely not return _that_ error message, no matter what you point the command to or how your directories are configured. [This post](http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=87602#p3059170) in the XKCD forum thread hit all the high points, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/39 "2012-07-21T07:54:07Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Right, although the joke is that he presumably reached that state unintentionally. That might be a bit harder. Definitely. > [@SCSimmons](#): > > Aliasing ls is easy, yes. It will definitely not return _that_ error message Understood. It’s just that people were saying “ls” is such an integral part of the system that it pointing elsewhere was a sign the system was borked. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824/40 "2012-07-21T08:08:14Z")
I think the “singularity” punchline is that only a superintelligent AI (commonly associated with the singularity) could unravel that horrible mess. Either that or it’s saying that the only way the computer could get that screwed up is that it’s intelligent and has achieved singularity status prematurely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-explain-this-xkcd-request-july-20/628824.md?page=3)