# ­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:** 54
**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 26, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1062 "2021-10-26T21:38:05Z")
The fact that it’s slope testing specifically is almost irrelevant: The same thing would be true of almost any statistical test. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2021, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1063 "2021-10-28T03:09:18Z")
> **[Retractable Rocket](https://xkcd.com/2534/)** > > Hard to believe that for so many years once they were fully extended we just let them tip over. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1064 "2021-10-30T13:11:57Z")
> **[Common Cold Viruses](https://xkcd.com/2535/)** > > "It's not an influenza, but the onset has notes of the '09 H1N1 strain." "Ah yes, that was a good year for H1N1." But what about the virus’s terroir? School sourced or work place sourced? ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1065 "2021-11-01T13:51:45Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > But what about the virus’s terroir? School sourced or work place sourced? You’ve done the extremely improbable and improved an already-good xkcd. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1066 "2021-11-01T19:45:08Z")
Are colds even a thing anymore? I haven’t had one in about two years. Normally I get 1-2 per year. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1067 "2021-11-01T21:01:38Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > You’ve done the extremely improbable and improved an already-good xkcd. Thank you. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Are colds even a thing anymore? As with the flu, social distancing and other anti-covid practices are suppressing colds. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1068 "2021-11-01T21:02:02Z")
> **[Wirecutter](https://xkcd.com/2536/)** > > This was always going to be a controversial Wirecutter post, but what really got them in trouble were their 'budget' and 'upgrade' picks. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1069 "2021-11-01T21:11:05Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > As with the flu, social distancing and other anti-covid practices are suppressing colds. I was informed by reliable sources that masks and social distancing do not work. Are you claiming they’re wrong? I do wonder how long the effect will last. Not that we’re anywhere close to eradicating the cold, but if it were suppressed enough, maybe it’ll be a few years before it stabilizes at the previous rate. Or even a slightly lower rate, if at least some of us continue to wear masks semi-permanently (and work from home). ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1070 "2021-11-01T23:54:43Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > As with the flu, social distancing and other anti-covid practices are suppressing colds. Even though I live alone and I’ve been extremely careful about both wearing a mask and social distancing, I still managed to somehow catch a cold in September. I took this as an indication of how important it is to add the third defense of COVID vaccination. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1071 "2021-11-01T23:55:42Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > I took this as an indication of how important it is to add the third defense of COVID vaccination. Yeah I bet. You must have been in a panic. I would have been convinced I had covid regardless of test results if I caught a cold. There is such a thing as false negative. I don’t normally have hypochondriac tendencies, but the next time I start feeling sick I’m going to freak the f\*\*\* out. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1072 "2021-11-02T18:52:34Z")
I’m just getting over a cold. As soon as I started experiencing stuffy nose and chest congestion, I got tested – negative…it’s just a cold. I’m baffled as to where I might have contracted it, but I guess it’s a sign that the world is returning to normal. Yay. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1073 "2021-11-04T00:59:41Z")
> **[Painbow Award](https://xkcd.com/2537/)** > > This year, our team took home the dark blue ribbon, better than the midnight blue we got last year but still short of the winning navy blue. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1074 "2021-11-04T15:26:11Z")
I know this is two weeks late, but here’s what could happen to flag maps of Europe if Putin became a die hard XKCD-fan: [https://twitter.com/btuftin/status/1456281128831266816?s=20](https://twitter.com/btuftin/status/1456281128831266816?s=20) ---
**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:** [November 4, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1075 "2021-11-04T15:44:31Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > [xkcd: Painbow Award](https://xkcd.com/2537) This one got a full out-loud laugh by me, which is not the norm for me with xkcd (or, really, comics in general). ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1076 "2021-11-06T02:51:51Z")
> **[Snack](https://xkcd.com/2538/)** > > Although grad students, suddenly reminded that food exists, tend to just grab and devour both without further discussion. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2021, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1077 "2021-11-06T13:52:28Z")
Back to “Painbow”, I would imagine that most scientists just use whatever is the default color scheme of their standard data visualization too. And I further imagine that most of those data visualization tools just base their color scheme on some simple color libraries provided by the OS. I know that the first time I wrote a Mandelbrot generator, I just used the sixteen standard colors provided by the graphics package that came with the compiler, and those colors weren’t numbered in any particular order (IIRC, 4 was red, and 7 was green). ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1078 "2021-11-06T14:06:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I know that the first time I wrote a Mandelbrot generator For some reason, I see that as the punchline to an xkcd. “I wrote a Mandelbrot generator!” And a booth with a bunch of Benoit clones walking out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1079 "2021-11-06T14:19:03Z")
How would you make it apparent that those stick figures were Mandelbrot? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1080 "2021-11-06T15:38:40Z")
“The Aristocrats!” ---
**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:** [November 6, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1081 "2021-11-06T16:50:00Z")
Of course, you know what the middle initial stands for in “Benoit B. Mandelbrot”, right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=53) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=55)