xkcd
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xkcd is a webcomic by former NASA roboticist Randall Munroe. It is one of the most popular webcomics today, and is an influential part of geek culture. The focus is on math, science, Internet culture, and personal relationships from the perspective of an introverted geek — the same perspective shared by most of the target audience.
Although far from confrontational, xkcd has occasionally dealt with controversial topics, and is firmly and consistently pro-science. #154, for instance (see below) takes the attitude that although the scientific consensus on evolution and the age of the Earth is correct, there is no reason to be bothered by others' willful ignorance, so long as they are not in a position to make terrible laws based on that ignorance. One comic criticizes homeopathy, another comic attacks global warming denialism, several mock conspiracy theorists, and another is strongly critical of pickup artists. Aside from these topics, the comic is notoriously neutral when it comes to religion and politics, in contrast with its more abrasive sibling SMBC. Comics have criticized many logical fallacies, including appeal to moderation (690: Semicontrolled Deomolition), the gambler's fallacy (1252: Increased Risk) and post hoc ergo propter hoc (925: Cell Phones).
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[edit] xkcd and the Internet
Munroe has a talent for putting relatively simple ideas in amusing and memorable joke strips; as such, xkcd is often quoted, linked to, and/or embedded in a post when there's a discussion on the Internet pertaining to science, math, personal relationships, or the Internet itself. Examples include the very common use of #285 (see below), using Wikipedia's[citation needed] tag, as a way of criticizing someone else's unsupported assertions; as well as...
[edit] SIWOTI syndrome
SIWOTI syndrome is a strange psychological affliction affecting many Internet users.[citation NOT needed] The abbreviation comes from "Someone is wrong on the Internet," a phrase used in #386 ("Duty Calls").The syndrome manifests in persistent attempts at convincing people who are wrong that they are wrong. It is suspected that, analogous to the role of toxoplasmosis[wp] in human aggression, the syndrome is the underlying reason for the existence of Internet flame wars, the organized skeptical movement and this very wiki.
Joking aside, while it wasn't in the original strip, the phrase "SIWOTI syndrome" is often used, including by skeptics.[1] We'll leave to some other intrepid folklorist to determine which bright head(s) first came up with it.
[edit] Gallery
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[edit] External links
- xkcd, updates Monday, Wednesday and Friday
- xkcd What If? deals with various hypothetical science-related scenarios (such as "If you call a random phone number and say 'God bless you,' what are the chances that the person who answers just sneezed?"), usually updates on Tuesdays
- explain xkcd, a wiki explaining the jokes and references in each episode
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Here's an automatically generated list of examples.