XKCD Author's Unpublished Book Remains a Best-Seller For 5 Months 169
destinyland writes Tuesday is the official release date for the newest book from the geeky cartoonist behind XKCD — yet it's already become one of Amazon's best-selling books. Thanks to a hefty pre-order discount, one blogger notes that it's appeared on Amazon's list of hardcover best-sellers since the book was first announced in March, and this weekend it remains in the top 10. Randall Munroe recently announced personal appearances beginning this week throughout the U.S. (including Cambridge, New York, Seattle, and the San Francisco Bay Area) — as well as a Google Hangout on Friday, September 12. Just two weeks ago he was also awarded the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story — and now many of his appearances are already sold out.
Insert obligatory XKCD here (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Insert obligatory XKCD here (Score:5, Funny)
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The links do NOTHING.
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Didn't you forget some kind of reference to "my eyes"?
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Re:Insert obligatory XKCD here (Score:5, Funny)
here [imgur.com]
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Imposter alert! There is no stick-guy-in-a-hat pointing at the graph.
Ummm.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Just thought I'd express my opinion that Randall Munroe is a genius. The amount of work he puts into some of his comics [xkcd.com] really makes him unique.
Unrecognized command. Type "help" for assistance.
guest@xkcd:/$ help
That would be cheating!
Pure UNIX!
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sudo shutdown -r now
amount of work (Score:2)
If you look at the bottom of the page, you will see that it says he did not do the programming. He only drew the comics.
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But what is the command for jokes that are actually funny?
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One in a couple dozen strips has a fair bit of research behind it ... on the other hand stick figures.
The kind of jokes he makes on those research strips is fairly unique, but overall the amount of work he puts into the strips isn't anything special.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah well, I disrespectfully disagree. Randall Munroe is giant asshole with a rabid following of brainless morons. He only seems smart to you because you're so incredibly stupid.
You have issues... Fortunately for you one of them can be fixed by washing your mouth out with soap....
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Re:Ummm.... (Score:4, Insightful)
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When you display XKCD strips on an Apple device, then what happens? Does the universe crack through at that point and a black hole form?
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Yeah well, I disrespectfully disagree. Randall Munroe is giant asshole with a rabid following of brainless morons. He only seems smart to you because you're so incredibly stupid.
Both you and grandparent are wrong.
Randal Munroe is evidence that if you draw stick figures for long enough you will eventually gain recognition.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah well, I disrespectfully disagree. Randall Munroe is giant asshole with a rabid following of brainless morons. He only seems smart to you because you're so incredibly stupid.
Both you and grandparent are wrong.
Randal Munroe is evidence that if you draw stick figures for long enough you will eventually gain recognition.
In other words you are pissed at the fact that in these kinds of comics it's content that matters and not so much how good you are at drawing?
mod this up. (Score:2)
:)
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Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Randal Munroe is evidence that if you draw stick figures for long enough you will eventually gain recognition.
Sure, as long as your stick figures are saying and doing incredibly witty things.
Actually, Munroe's success is really surprising to me in spite of the brilliance of his work, because so much of what he draws is accessible to a relatively narrow audience. Not all of it, not even the majority. But there's enough that is only understandable to people who know more than most about computers, mathematics, physics, etc., that none of the non-geeks I know really like it.
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Actually, Munroe's success is really surprising to me in spite of the brilliance of his work, because so much of what he draws is accessible to a relatively narrow audience. Not all of it, not even the majority.
I should have qualified this to point out I'm talking about his comics, more than What If. HIs What If series is very accessible, by design.
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The more niche your work are the easier it is to get traction because no one else will bother to cater to that niche.
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The more niche your work are the easier it is to get traction because no one else will bother to cater to that niche.
Traction, yes. Broad attention, no.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Insightful)
I have a different theory. His comic appeal to people who merely believe themselves to be above average.
...but it can't appeal to people who really are above average, because it doesn't appeal to you! Right?
So, can you recommend any webcomics that appeal to people who bolster their own sense of superiority by accusing others of feeling superior, and then mocking them for it? Maybe something with "Projection" in the title...
Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Funny)
I'm sure there's an XKCD on that.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Funny)
And somehow you manage to find a way to feel superior to both. [xkcd.com]
Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Insightful)
His comic appeal to people who merely believe themselves to be above average.
Bah.
It's got nothing to do with intelligence, or even knowledge in a general sense. It's that his comics so often rely on specialized knowledge. For example, a couple of my favorite strips are the "sudo" strip and the "Bobby Tables" strip. The former is only understandable to someone who has at least a passing acquaintance with *nix system administration, and the latter requires some knowledge of SQL and SQL injection attacks. Neither of those things is hard to understand. They don't require great intelligence. But they're not generally known. And to people who require an explanation, they're not funny (I have t-shirts of both, and I have never gotten so much as a chuckle from anyone to whom I have to explain the basis for the jokes).
You'll note, of course, that I'm not actually addressing your real point, which is a snarky argument that only people who like to feel themselves smarter or more knowledgeable than most would enjoy the strip. That's because it's not worth addressing.
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Please enlighten us.
What online resources do you find funny? What is the funniest geeky/techy/sciencey thing you follow?
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I haven't found one.
What makes you laugh at things merely because you recognize them?
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I haven't found one.
Ah, you have no sense of humor. That explains a great deal.
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I haven't found one.
You haven't found a single thing online that is humorous? I'll let the amateur psychologists here analyze that, but it sounds quite sad to me.
What makes you laugh at things merely because you recognize them?
Who ever said that? I laugh at things I find funny or amusing. Whether it's something I recognize, or just something that only exists inside a comic, I laugh if it is funny to me.
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If narcc truly has no sense of humor, that would be quite sad.
Maybe he isn't simply a troll, but an old curmudgeon that truly hates everything around him.
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You haven't found a single thing online that is humorous?
A lot of things online are funny. I just haven't found a "geeky/techy/sciencey" that's funny that I "follow".
Context.
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Fair enough. But the first question in my post was more general. And in all honesty, I think several people here would love to know what you do find funny or amusing online. It doesn't have to be a continuous site like XKCD; maybe it's a youtube video or random lolcat image.
Please, just give us two links to things you think are funny.
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Never heard of SMBC, so googled it and read the last several comics. Boring, and fixated on sex. I could watch reruns of Frasier and Two and a Half Men for that.
As for the 'critique' of XKCD, I don't recognize the assertion that is made.
We hold science in high regard, yet all we can do is make nerdy inside jokes. In a snide manner, at that. We are nothing more than that, when we are supposed to be making the world a better place, through pure science.
Makes it seem like Randall personally shut down NASA, Bell Labs, HP, Xerox PARC, and the LHC, just to put more resources into the server that hosts xkcd.com, and free up thousands of real scientists so they can research Star Trek references and new mathematical applications
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Went back and read a few more of the SMBC comics. For some reason half of the recent ones focused on sex, but much fewer before that. I still don't find most of them funny, or even amusing. But I wanted to clear up this perspective on them.
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SMBC varies in quality. Some of them I've found really funny, others, meh. I find it worth reading. The only way you're going to get consistent quality is mediocrity. Similarly, much as I like XKCD, there's times that just don't grab me. I think Munroe keeps trying different things, which is generally good, but if you know something's going to work it's hardly an experiment.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Insightful)
The "sudo make me a sandwich" one? Just not funny
... to you.
I "get" the "joke", it's just not even a little bit funny
... to you.
The "Bobby Tables" strip also isn't funny
... to you.
I did notice. I don't blame you. Reality is very difficult to face.
And apparently subjective opinion is a very difficult concept for you to grasp.
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You missed this bit:
It's "Ha, ha! That's a thing that I know about! Familiarity for the win!"
You can call that 'smart' and 'funny' if you like. Just don't expect everyone to agree with you.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Interesting)
You missed this bit:
No I didn't. It's funny (to me) not solely because I know what SQL injection is, since there's nothing inherently funny (to me) about SQL injection. It's the setting, the "characters" (such as they are), the conversation. "Little Bobby Tables, we call him," for example, is (to me) an amusingly colloquial interjection in itself, ironic in what would probably otherwise be a dry analysis of SQL injection, as is her stereotypically mom-like admonishment.
Just don't expect everyone to agree with you.
I don't. That's why I don't go around saying "this isn't funny" as if it's an objective fact and getting all uppity because other people like things I don't*.
-
*except for Jersey Shore, because that is just shit.
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The "sudo make me a sandwich" one? Just not funny. I "get" the "joke", it's just not even a little bit funny. It's "Ha, ha! That's a thing that I know about! Familiarity for the win!"
The "Bobby Tables" strip also isn't funny. For the same reasons.
Wrong on both counts.
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Then, please, enlighten me. How is either funny in any way other than the way I've stated?
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Some people find it funny, and not because of familiarity. Therefor, it must be funny to them because of some other factor as yet unnamed.
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Putting something familiar into an unexpected context can be funny, particularly in the "twist at the end" sense of humor. If you don't get it, that's unfortunate, but lots of people do find that sort of thing funny.
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Xkcd is just the "modern" version of making new proverbs. That is, it just tags things that are happening in everyday (professional) life, so that these things can be referred to using a common "name".
Re: Ummm.... (Score:1)
I assume that was your intent. Unless you haven't realized that humor is subjective. A lot of people like physical comedy. I don't but it would be arrogant of me to think my sense of humor is better.
Familiarity is a part of humor. If you can't relate to something you're unlikely to see any humor in it.
I don't like every xkcd, but I tend to like them better than many other comics.
I seriously doubt that you were unable discern that your comment had a tone of insult rather than being an informative critiqu
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More like an invitation to like-minded individuals. There's a lot of group-think on Slashdot and XKCD is, inexplicably, a darling to many users here. Some people feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions when they know that they're not alone.
Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Wow, did I strike a nerve!
Not really no. The downmod as flaimbait is entirely fair.
You don't like XKCD (or apparently any other webcomic) and that's fine, you have different tastes to some people here.
However, youre using that mere difference of opinion to hurl unwarranted and unjistified insults at people who do like it. In other words you're baiting people to flame you by insulting them over nothing more than a difference of taste.
That's not striking a nerve and doen't justify your actions, it's slashdot's moderation system working exactly as designed.
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Let me guess: You have a large collection of "nerdy" t-shirts? Most of those are about as funny, insightful, and entertaining as XKCD. You know this already, as I'm sure when you're shopping on whatever website sells that stuff you like some and reject others. The difference between those and XKCD, of course, is that the t-shirt shop doesn't come with a personality for you to worship.
That's pretty insulting.
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What's insulting about it? The assumption that he owns t-shirts or that he uses his own judgement to discriminate between the good ones and bad ones while shopping for them?
Re:Ummm.... (Score:5, Informative)
Name one.
You really want to do this?
http://news.slashdot.org/comme... [slashdot.org]
You said:
I have a different theory. His comic appeal to people who merely believe themselves to be above average. Like the 'Big Ban Theory' or the bad joke that is new 'Cosmos' series. Presumably a show for 'geeks' that has broad consumer appeal because everyone wants to believe that they're smarter than the people around them.
You're accusing people of ego stroking. That's simply throwing insults.
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For example, if I were to say "you take pride in your work", you could also say that I was "accusing" you of "ego stroking". Would you find that insulting?
No, because that means something different. Words mean stuff. If you pull a humpty-dumpty and simply invent the meaning to suit yourself then no one will have the faintest idea what you're talking about.
I think you find it insulting because you believe it, and find that revelation uncomfortable.
Not really no, I was trying to educate you. You asked which p
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Those are the most expressive stick figures I've ever seen. Draw ordinary stick figures all you want, and nobody who doesn't know you will care.
When I went to a Monet exhibit, I was able to observe his technique closely. He painted with little arches of color, so there were no fine details. You saw the colors and the placement to create a painting of something. It struck me that Monet's style forced me to see things as he wanted me to, by removing other things I might concentrate on. Similarly, Munr
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So you're the one who thinks Microsoft is morally bound to hand over its Irish emails to the federosaurus!
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He only seems smart to you because you're so incredibly stupid.
Note that "smart" and "genius" are two different things. Also "smart" does not necessarily mean "intelligent". The comics he creates regularly are very smart, and to regularly create smart comics requires genius of some kind.
And if you don't think many XKCD "strips" are rather smart... what are you doing at a "New for Nerd" website?
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And if you think many XKCD "strips" are rather smart... what are you doing at a "New for Nerd" website?
Fixed that for you.
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And if you think many XKCD "strips" are rather smart... what are you doing at a "New for Nerd" website?
Fixed that for you.
No, I think you are actually wrong there. If you don't find some subset (different for different people, but still a sizeable subset) smart, you do not really fit what is considered "a nerd". You can still be intelligent, smart, interested in technology,whatever, but not a "nerd".
Gateway drug (Score:3)
Dilbert -> XKCD -> Red Meat -> Plastic Brick Automaton -> obscene graffiti in the bathroom of a rest area in Idaho.
Re:Gateway drug (Score:5, Insightful)
Far Side >> all of the above.
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And Bloom County, Calvin & Hobbs, etc.
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Honorable Mention: The first several years of "User Friendly"
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right on! (Score:5, Insightful)
i haven't really read xkcd in a few months, but i do love it.
his odd medium of stick figures seemed lazy the first time i read his comic, but now it seems almost purpose-picked for the kind of readership he has. it's the comic strip equivalent of a command line interface. no flash, all function.
slashdot has never motivated me to purchase anything before. i was unaware he was releasing a book. so this is a first, a slashvertisement got me.
i wish randall the most incredible success in his new book, he deserves to make many millions from it. he seems like the kind of guy that would start xkcd scholorships or something if he became wealthy.
German version is cheaper?! (Score:3, Insightful)
I sense a conspiracy.
German Version [amazon.com]
English Version [amazon.com]
Re:German version is cheaper?! (Score:5, Funny)
the german version should cost more. making things funny in german is REALLY hard.
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That's true. You can only have each translator write one word. Otherwise, you risk killing them all.
http://youtu.be/8gpjk_MaCGM [youtu.be]
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My first thought too. :^)
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the german version should cost more. making things funny in german is REALLY hard.
Fwiw: This isn't an opinionated observation from outsiders, as some might think (and I once thought); the German people seem to be well aware of this characteristic that seems to be "missing" from within their society.
Years ago, in an interview on German television, Robin Williams was asked what he felt was the cause of Germany's lack of comedians or a comedy scene in general. His response, done in jest, was: "Maybe it's because (you) killed all the people with a sense of humor."
Ironically, the host took
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Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!
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They should make a book called 125 Years of German Humor. That would be the best two pages in comedic history.
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Okay, so why is the german version cheaper?
Ve haf ways uf making you read!
I like how... (Score:3)
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They tried to book events in Laramie, Muskogee, Tupelo and Pine Bluff, but even if a few people tore off the vertical phone numbers on the ads posted in the community centers in those cities, nobody reached out to the local organizers so the events were cancelled.
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...Cambridge, New York, Seattle, and the San Francisco Bay Area, has now become "throughout the US". And yet Slashdot thinks it can comment on social issues. Are all 4 of those areas in the top ten wealthiest metropolitan areas? Probably pretty close.
I live in Seattle and I am very poor.
Such a really genuine nice guy. (Score:5, Interesting)
He did find it really refreshing to be able to go on a proper touristy roadtrip a few days after the conference was over to see a few of the prettier places in the nearby area and to see those from a local's perspective instead of the standard stereotypical locations, where his wife (who is a really lovely lady and someone I've kept up some contact with since) was able to pursue some of her interests. All this without people fawning over him or being weird around him. I got the impression that the more his internet fame grows, the harder it is for him to lead a normal life and that is something that I hope he is able to work with as the years go by.
I think it's really cool that he is being recognised for his hard work, and he does work hard that's for sure.
Affiliate link in the submitter's blog (Score:5, Insightful)
The summary includes a link to the submitter's blog, with a shortened link -- tinyURL.com/XKCDAuthor -- that expands to an Amazon link with his affiliate code embedded. While I am a huge fan of XKCD, I am not a huge fan of masked links that earn up to 8% for completely unrelated bloggers. Perhaps the summary should be edited to include a direct link to the Amazon product page?
XKCD (Score:2)
What does XKCD stand for actually? I always wondered.
Re:XKCD (Score:4, Informative)
On the sites "About" page is the official answer:
What does XKCD stand for?
It's not actually an acronym. It's just a word with no phonetic pronunciation -- a treasured and carefully-guarded point in the space of four-character strings.
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Cool, thanks!
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It's not actually an acronym. It's just a word with no phonetic pronunciation -- a treasured and carefully-guarded point in the space of four-character strings.
http://xkcd.com/about/ [xkcd.com]
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Cool, thanks! :)
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Probably just one of the few remaining unregistered four-letter .com domains, from back in the day when there were unregistered four-letter .com domains. They're all taken now. Everybody wants a short domain name, especially the domain squatters.
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What does XKCD stand for actually? I always wondered.
The Xavier Kenneally College of Dentistry, natch!
(disclaimer: GLR wrote that somewhere, not me)
And if yr not an OTTer, you probably don't care anyway.
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Hey, I care, and I'm not an OTTer. Not officially anyway. Can anonymous lurkers be OTTers? I guess not. :(
Good Grief (Score:4, Informative)
Just in case anyone else but me is having a hard time finding out what the book actually is, it's called What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions [amazon.com].
Slashdot: home of the best comment moderation system and the worst article summaries.
Randall Munroe (Score:4, Funny)
I looked him upo in Wikipedia and ironically, he is in fact quite thin and has a big, round head...
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Hint: Being near-circular in body shape is not the normal human shape. It's called obesity.
Other hint: Being quite thin and have a big, round head is (or should be) the normal condition of at least 50% of the human population (men + prepubescent children). The remaining 40-something % is (or should be) also quite thin with a big, round head, but often includes two lumps on the chest area. Then, for about 50% of the human population, at certain points in their lives they will sport another, smaller thin obje
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Then, for about 50% of the human population, at certain points in their lives they will sport another, smaller thin object with a round head.
Only at certain points? Um, hate to break this to you, but despite being female I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be detachable regardless of what the song says... ;-)
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How well does xkcd work in book form? (Score:2)
It's an honest question. I've seen many of these on the web over the years but some of the (IMHO) better ones use the web in some clever way [xkcd.com], use long contiguous panels [xkcd.com], or feature odd page layouts (3099 panels anyone? [xkcd.com]). How well does xkcd translate to book form?
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Too bad for you, 1335 was pretty good. Look it up in your non-Google search engine, you'll see.
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Might be good, certainly wasn't very funny... or does it need Javascript?
Anyway, 1336 was much funnier...
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No, even Asperger's couldn't explain it. Someone with Asperger's would simply figure he "doesn't get it", and read another one later. To completely stop reading the comic because of one comic about search engine results, is just infantile learned-response behavior.
"That lamp was hot. Never touch lamps again."
"Strained peas taste bad, never eat green mush again."
"XKCD made fun [pet peeve], never read XKCD again."
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What If [xkcd.com], not exactly the classic xkcd comics, but worthy a book even if he don't expand even more the articles over what was posted in that site.