this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2023
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Source: https://xkcd.com/2839/

Explain XKCD: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2839

Title text: My first words were 'These were my first words; what were yours?'

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[–] [email protected] 136 points 1 year ago

Reads comic.

Goes back to count how many words are in the comic.

[–] [email protected] 99 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I wish my future child would send remote log for easy management.

timestamp hostname process level text
[DT] child1 shit WARNING child1 shat. Refresh diaper.
[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Child1? You start numbering at 1? You monster!

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago

You keep child0 unassigned in case the girl you met at the club three years ago starts looking for you

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Better not ask what happened to child0

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I let my children pick their own 96-bit number and just hope there's no collisions.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I just name my children using GUIDs. To keep things simple I normally call them by the first 32 bits, but when they're getting into trouble I use all 128.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Well their full names are 128-bit. I just use the last 32 bits to store timestamps, demographic info and checksum bits.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

4F0CF706A40BEF97C29DA16BECC5B642, YOU COME DOWNSTAIRS THIS INSTANCE!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

What have I done

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

If he ever sends a 404, hopefully he just returns on all fours.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Who learns twelve before one through eleven?

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 year ago

That's my favorite part of this joke.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Is twelve a number or a word?

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There is only a distinction when written, when spoken everything is words.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

We have solid reason to believe numbers are a pretty distinct symbolic category. We don't use the same part of the brain we use for speech to process numbers. We use a different distinct part of the brain that is not used for speech and is more related with visual processing. Both, speech and number areas, are activated when we read spelled out numbers, and even homophones pointing to the theory that numerals develop into their own thing inside our brains.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

But being able to express those symbols in a sentence requires words

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's more like, they can exist in our head without being words. So they are a distinct thing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

That's fine. So the kid has a concept of 1-11 but doesn't know the words for them.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It's in a superposition of states until observed.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Twist: he knows more than 12 words, he just didn't learn the right number

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I immediately thought of that scene in the West Wing.

President Josiah Bartlet : Sweden has a 100% literacy rate, Leo. 100%! How do they do that?

Leo McGarry : Well, maybe they don't and they also can't count

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Actually, I've always had a rather extensive vocabulary, not to mention a phenomenal grasp of grammar and a superlative command of syntax. I simply chose not to employ them.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

Context

For the uninitiated, uh huh had only ever said uh huh throughout the movie till he drops this.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Is that a stormlight archive reference?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It'd be so much weirder if it wasn't.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

Used every word he had to make that sentence

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Didnt' forget this time!

Hopefully I did that correctly

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

How do you count to twelve without knowing the other numbers?

[–] doctorn 1 points 1 year ago

Finally that sentence makes sense, now that he knows all those twelve words that make it up... 😅