# ­xkcd thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574 "2020-05-28T00:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 122
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2423 "2023-09-27T13:14:40Z")
I laughed out loud (no, really) at this one. At the last (Non D&D) game night, our host’s daughter wanted to play a couple rounds of One Night Ultimate Werewolf before the dads settled into Arkham Horror. I hate lying to my friends and am terrible at it. I drew werewolf three fucking times. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2424 "2023-09-27T19:55:17Z")
Reminds me a game of _Shadows over Camelot_ where it turned out that my wife was the traitor. She did a good enough acting job to fool everybody, but mentioned afterwards that it made her a bit uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2425 "2023-09-27T23:07:39Z")
Yeah, I much prefer being Town to Scum, too. When I draw Scum, I accept it and do my best, because I know that the game depends upon that, but apparently my best isn’t very good. One notable game, I managed to last all the way to the Final Three, without having drawn any suspicion all game, and the other two players started the Day with “Vote Chronos, no reason, I just think it’s him”, and refused to budge. Aside: Did anyone else see the oversized version of this one that was originally posted? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2426 "2023-09-27T23:48:36Z")
> **[Book Podcasts](https://xkcd.com/2834/)** > > I've been working my way through this 1950s podcast by someone named John Tolkien called 'Lord of the Rings'--it's a deep dive into this fictional world he created. Good stuff, really bingeable! ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2427 "2023-09-28T01:04:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Aside: Did anyone else see the oversized version of this one that was originally posted? I did. I first thought it was part of the gag which I didn’t get. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2428 "2023-09-30T00:51:39Z")
> **[Factorial Numbers](https://xkcd.com/2835/)** > > So what do we do when we get to base 10? Do we use A, B, C, etc? No: Numbers larger than about 3.6 million are simply illegal. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2429 "2023-10-01T16:46:11Z")
xkcd has rarely been good in the last few years, but I gotta give him this one. Really clever! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2430 "2023-10-01T21:35:39Z")
So how do you handle the equivalent of decimals? Try to go down to base… one? And then… base zero? Or do you start the sequence in the other direction? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2431 "2023-10-01T21:41:58Z")
Negative integer factorials are undefined (the limit is +/- infinity). But for other negatives, they are defined, assuming we define it in terms of the Gamma function. So, perhaps we should change the definition to operate only on half-integers–i.e., numbers of the form k+1/2, where k is an integer. Then we can support “decimals”. Unfortunately, it means integers now need to be represented as an infinite decimal, since the positive values are no longer integers, but that’s a small price to pay… ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2432 "2023-10-01T21:59:30Z")
Wikipedia has [an article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factorial_number_system). Apparently, this is used in combinatorics (not my field). For fractions, the suggestion is that the nth digit to the right of the “decimal” point is worth 1/n! (where the nth digit to the left is worth n!). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2023, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2433 "2023-10-02T05:56:50Z")
@Topologist And with the fun consequence that all rational numbers written in that form will eventually terminate. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2434 "2023-10-02T16:57:24Z")
That chart is very difficult to interpret, especially the top banner. What is the meaning of “353011”? What do “Base 7”, “Base 6”, etc refer to? Where’s the factorials? The table is much more interpretable. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2023, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2435 "2023-10-02T20:22:31Z")
> **[A Halloween Carol](https://xkcd.com/2836/)** > > \[after a minute\] "Okay, I think I've got it, thanks. Can I--" "oOOOooOOooo!" ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2436 "2023-10-02T20:40:53Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > That chart is very difficult to interpret, especially the top banner. What is the meaning of “353011”? What do “Base 7”, “Base 6”, etc refer to? Where’s the factorials? > > The table is much more interpretable. Yeah, he left a lot out, but this is presumably one slide in a whole PowerPoint presentation (shudder). 353011 is meant to be an example, but the slide doesn’t actually say what it means. The factorials come in when you compute the value: 353011 = 3\times 6! + 5\times 5! + 3\times 4! + 0\times 3! + 1\times 2! + 1\times 1! Saying that the leading 3 is in “base 7” means that the allowed values for that digit are 0–6, as if it were a digit in a number written in base 7. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2437 "2023-10-05T01:19:33Z")
> **[Odyssey](https://xkcd.com/2837/)** > > Ugh, it says they attempted delivery but "Nobody was home." ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2438 "2023-10-05T01:41:03Z")
For context: > **[The Iliad Is Grim, Bloody, and Packed With Heroes. Are We Ready to Love It...](https://slate.com/culture/2023/09/emily-wilson-iliad-translation-review.html)** > > Emily Wilson’s translation packs a lot into a little space. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2439 "2023-10-05T01:48:44Z")
I can’t remember which translation it was that came with Brittanica’s Great Books collection, but it was terrible. It read like the translator thought that archaic language was the way you were supposed to write, so as to make things sound more elite and inscrutable. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2440 "2023-10-05T01:54:32Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > For context > Translators often go unsung, but Emily Wilson became a household name with the success of her _Odyssey_ . Is there something I missed? I’m sure her translations are perfectly fine, but was there some social media fad or the like that made her a big deal? (I’ve never heard of her) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2441 "2023-10-05T01:58:05Z")
I think it’s just that nerds like good translations of nerdy works. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2442 "2023-10-05T02:03:56Z")
The Slate article makes it sound like more than that. Wikipedia says this: > Wilson became internationally known for her translation of _The Odyssey_ in 2018, with media attention on her becoming the first woman to publish a translation of the work into English. So maybe that? Still seems like a weak hook to immediately go to international fame. But maybe a few good media appearances would be enough. Especially in the progressive nerd arena, like NPR. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=121) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=123)