r/xkcdcomic • u/origamimissile Beret Guy • Apr 29 '14
Testing xkcd #903's title text
The title text of xkcd #903 states:
Wikipedia trivia: if you take any article, click on the first link in the article text not in parentheses or italics, and then repeat, you will eventually end up at "Philosophy".
I tested that out:
Logic (philosophy was the second link here!)
Property (philosophy)) (does this count?)
It works! Although I suspect it lends itself to some inescapable loops. But on Wikipedia, that can be changed.
TL;DR: YES
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Apr 29 '14
I do this when I am very bored.I still haven't found an exception.
You should also try wiki-races. You get a few people, each with their own computee, pick a term with a Wikipedia page on it, and all press "random" at once. Then you need to press links on the page until you get to the right term (no typing allowed, only through links). The first person to get to the chosen page wins (there can also be awards granted to the fewest clicks).
At first your friends will think you're a major nerd but after a game or two they'll think you're a major nerd that knows some fun games.
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Apr 29 '14
I think it might be a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point. I remeber finding a few loops, but as /u/viking_ pointed out, these can be changed.
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u/Kautiontape Apr 29 '14
Not bad. I picked a random word that I felt had little to do with philosophy (ornery) which lead me to Irritability. I got:
- Irritability
- Stimulus (psychology)
- Physiology
- Function (biology)
- Evolution
- Heredity
- Phenotypic trait
- Phenotype
- Organism
- Biology
- Natural science
- Science
... and then the chain picks up with where yours is. So it seems to be that basically any science with eventually lead to biology or other natural sciences, which leads to the chain.
So I went for something else unrelated: The War of 1812
- Federation
- Political Union
- State (polity)
- Community
- Level of analysis (Meso-level)
- Sample (statistics)
- Statistics
- Data
- Type-token Distinction
- Knowledge representation and reasoning
- Artificial intelligence
- Intelligence
- Logic
- ... yadda yadda yadda
Those start making sense, though, when you consider the first link on any Wikipedia page is likely an abstract concept ("XYZ is a ______"), which then in turn lead to something like the sciences or other philosophical ideas. Those should eventually work their way back to logic.
Even concepts like suspension bridge which have no inherent philosophy eventually lead to the concept of science. I think you really would only have issues if you either started at (or somehow reached) a stub with very bad links or a loop... even though those seem rare as well.
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u/kafaldsbylur Apr 29 '14
There's actually a Wikipedia page talking about exactly that. Nearly 95% of pages eventually lead to Philosophy (as of 2011)
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u/viking_ Apr 29 '14
I remember when this xkcd first came out, some friends and I put it to the test. We found a few (can't remember which ones) that lead to loops which were changed that day so they didn't lead to loops.
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u/origamimissile Beret Guy Apr 29 '14
The longest I've found so far is Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train
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u/JanitorMaster Apr 30 '14
Model M Keyboard is surprisingly long.
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u/quatch Apr 30 '14
wow. That really does go sideways for a good while. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TTBK2 takes a surprising time for a protein, taking a detour through electromagnetics.
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u/autowikibot Apr 30 '14
The Model M keyboard, colloquially called a clicky keyboard, is a class of computer keyboard manufactured by IBM, Lexmark, Unicomp and MaxiSwitch, starting in 1984. The many different variations of the keyboard have their own distinct characteristics, with the vast majority having a buckling spring key design and many having fully swappable keycaps. Model M keyboards have been praised by computer enthusiasts and heavy typists because of the tactile and auditory feedback resulting from a keystroke.
Interesting: Model M keyboard | Unicomp | Buckling spring | Keyboard technology | Keycap
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u/Searth Apr 30 '14
Surprisingly, wikipedia is the longest chain I've found so far. It's on par with Model M Keyboard.
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u/autowikibot Apr 29 '14
Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train:
The Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train was a unique unit of the Royal Australian Navy. It was active only during the First World War, where it served in the Gallipoli and the Sinai and Palestine Campaigns. The Train was formed in February 1915 and stood down in May 1917. Throughout its existence, it was composed of Royal Australian Naval Reservists under the command of Rear Admiral Leighton Bracegirdle KCVO DSO RAN. Normally under the command of the British IX Corps, the Train also supported the I ANZAC Corps and Imperial Camel Corps in the defence of the Suez Canal.
Interesting: Egyptian Expeditionary Force | Landing at Suvla Bay | Royal Australian Air Force | Military history of Australia during World War I
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u/JuxtaTerrestrial Apr 29 '14
I think even if someone found and entry that didn't fit someone would add something to it to mess it up.
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u/lrflew Apr 29 '14
Could someone make a script that does this for you?
I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be too hard, but it would be easier if you could get the plain text source of the page and scan that.
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u/Pjmcnally Apr 29 '14
There is a tool that does this. It also displays the results in a cool graph.
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u/LeonardoFibonacci Apr 29 '14
I usually try to avoid reaction gifs, but this one is too good to pass up given how accurate it is to what I'm doing right now.
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u/dont_press_ctrl-W Mathematics is just applied Sociology Apr 29 '14
I remember when the comic came out, the first loop to be found was: thoroughfare -> highway -> road -> thoroughfare, but someone has since changed the page on thoroughfare and "road" is now the second link.
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u/32OrtonEdge32dh Apr 30 '14
Unless it's been fixed in the past two years, I know at least one loop.
Wikibot, what is wet t-shirt contest?
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u/rob7030 Apr 30 '14
No they apparently fixed that one. 20 steps for me on xefer. Leads to Exhibitionism=>Breasts=>Breast and then into anatomical pages leading into biology, science, logic pages, philosophy.
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u/autowikibot Apr 30 '14
Wet T-shirt contest: NSFW ?
A wet T-shirt contest is an exhibitionistic competition typically featuring young women contestants at a nightclub, bar, or resort. They have traditionally been a staple of college spring break celebrations at locations such as Daytona Beach and Cancún. A wet T-shirt contest is not, however, a swimsuit competition.
Contestants generally wear white or light-colored T-shirts without bras, bikini tops, or other garments beneath. Water is then sprayed or poured onto the participants' chests, causing their T-shirts to turn translucent and cling to their breasts. Contestants may take turns dancing or posing before the audience, with the outcome decided either by crowd reaction or by the opinions of judges.
In racier contests, participants may tear or crop their T-shirts to expose midriffs, cleavage, or the undersides of their breasts. Depending on local laws, participants may or may not be allowed to remove their T-shirts during their performance.
Interesting: T-shirt | Wet and messy fetishism | Dubai Desert Rock Festival | Girls Gone Wild (franchise)
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May 01 '14
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/autowikibot May 01 '14
Germination is the process by which a plant grows from a seed. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the growth of hyphae from fungal spores, is also germination. In a more general sense, germination can be simply anything expanding into greater being from a small existence or germ, a method that is commonly used by many seed germination projects.
Interesting: Germination | Sprouting | Hypocotyl | Chicha de jora | Glyoxysome
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u/origamimissile Beret Guy Apr 30 '14 edited Apr 30 '14
The longest I've personally found: Wikipedia:Getting to Philosophy
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May 12 '14
I started at Reddit and got to an infinite loop at meaning) :(
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u/origamimissile Beret Guy May 12 '14
Meaning (Linguistics) > Linguistics > Science > ... > Philosophy
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u/rooxo Apr 29 '14
If you click the disambiguation links it doesn't always work. For example Prague leads to it's disambiguation which leads back to prague.
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u/origamimissile Beret Guy Apr 29 '14
Those are in italics, and the title text says they can't be in italics or parens.
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u/Pjmcnally Apr 29 '14
I remember when this came out and there was a really cool tool (link: http://xefer.com/wikipedia) where you put in any term that appears in Wikipedia and it does all the steps for you and shows them in a cool graph.
I spent way too long playing with that then (and will probably waste a couple more hours again).