# ­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:** 65
**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:** [March 23, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1282 "2022-03-23T21:39:36Z")
Every direction is pointing out to the sky. Some directions have a planet in the foreground, but that’s small shakes compared to 50,000 galaxies. And “in this circle” clearly means framed by the circle, which means that the 3d space so defined must be a cone. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1283 "2022-03-23T21:45:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And “in this circle” clearly means framed by the circle, which means that the 3d space so defined must be a cone. Not a cylinder? ---
**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:** [March 23, 2022, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1284 "2022-03-23T21:50:49Z")
It’s a cone. If you held the phone at half the distance, it would appear to have twice the angular diameter, and “contain” four times the number of galaxies. That’s how cones work, not cylinders. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1285 "2022-03-23T21:51:42Z")
A cylinder would literally only be a few millimeters wide, even out to billions of light years. I don’t know if there would be many galaxies in that, or any at all. It may pass through a few, but that’s not the same idea. The idea was more what you would see through that circle, if you _could_ see to edge of the observable universe, would be around 50,000 galaxies. Telescopes don’t look down a cylinder, they see a cone. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1286 "2022-03-23T21:53:47Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > A cylinder would literally only be a few millimeters wide, even out to billions of light years. I don’t know if there would be many galaxies in that. Right, duh. Thanks for the obvious answer to my dumb question. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1287 "2022-03-24T09:03:54Z")
> **[Salary Negotiation](https://xkcd.com/2597/)** > > "We can do 0.33 or 0.34, but our payroll software doesn't allow us to--" "NO DEAL." ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1288 "2022-03-24T19:24:06Z")
They should just pay him $184,000.00 once every three years. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1289 "2022-03-24T22:59:49Z")
But I am sensing that he wouldn’t be a perfect fit for the company culture, so maybe it’s working out for the best. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1290 "2022-03-25T14:14:41Z")
It’s not like he was asking for anything irrational. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1291 "2022-03-25T17:37:42Z")
Boo! Hiss! \* _throws tomatoes at k9befriender_ \* EDIT: For years I misread your name as ‘K. B. Friendfinder.’ No idea where my brain got the ‘finder’ part from. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2022, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1292 "2022-03-26T12:28:51Z")
> **[Graphic Designers](https://xkcd.com/2598/)** > > They might make it past that first line of defense. For the second, you'll need some picture frames, a level, and a protractor that can do increments of less than a degree. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1293 "2022-03-29T16:13:26Z")
> **[Spacecraft Debris Odds Ratio](https://xkcd.com/2599/)** > > You say this daily walk will reduce my risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 30%, but also increase my risk of death by bear attack by 300%? That's a 280% increased! I'm not a sucker; I'm staying inside. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1294 "2022-03-31T04:45:58Z")
> **[Rejected Question Categories](https://xkcd.com/2600/)** > > You can click to preorder to get a copy of What If? 2 when it comes out 9/13, assuming we all make it past the spider situation(?) on Tuesday(?). ---
**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:** [March 31, 2022, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1295 "2022-03-31T09:58:56Z")
I really how secretive this joke is. Someone who doesn’t understand it won’t just see “oh, a joke I don’t get” but not see a joke at all. He never spoils out that the joke is that this is a common wrong style of reasoning. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1296 "2022-03-31T23:05:09Z")
Multiple wrong styles of reasoning. First, you’ve got the fact that spacecraft debris injuries are so rare that there’s no sense worrying about even a thousand-fold increase in the risk. Then you have “significance” defined in terms of the error bars, such that more precise measurement of the error bars would make the “significant” threshold smaller. And then, you also have a cumulative effect being treated as discrete, so that going inside after 4 hours and then going back again would keep your risk lower than just staying outside for the same total amount of time in one go. EDIT: Oh, and also the non-uniform binning on the vertical axis, and the pointless log-scaling on the horizontal axis. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2022, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1297 "2022-04-01T02:37:29Z")
It also doesn’t take into account that most injuries due to spacecraft debris happen within two miles of the home. ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1298 "2022-04-01T06:48:39Z")
Don’t know where you live, but in my neighborhood the greatest danger zone is from 55 to 300 miles (vertically) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1299 "2022-04-02T06:26:19Z")
> **[Instructions](https://xkcd.com/2601/)** > > Happy little turtles ---
**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:** [April 2, 2022, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1300 "2022-04-02T09:13:53Z")
You’ll want to click on this one today for the full output. Turn on your sound. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1301 "2022-04-02T09:31:51Z")
But all I get is some guy droning out some code. Boring! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=64) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=66)