this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2025
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xkcd #3115: Unsolved Physics Problems

Title text:

'Tin pest' makes more sense to me. Tin just doesn't want to be locked down in a shape like that. I get it. But why would any metal want to grow hair??

Transcript:

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Source: https://xkcd.com/3115/

explainxkcd for #3115

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[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 25 points 3 days ago (1 children)

That’s a mathematics problem. Current theory of probability doesn’t account for cases where the probabilities are actively fighting against you. Once you’ve formulated the axioms of antagonistic conditional probability, you should be able to understand how USB-A ports work.

[–] elucubra@sopuli.xyz 9 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I'm more inclined to blame gremlins.

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

In Nordic folklore, there’s a concept for a household spirit (nisse/tomte) that may do mischievous tricks if you don’t treat it appropriately. If mathematics can’t solve this puzzle, it has to be a computer tomte that isn’t happy with your taste in RGB or how infrequently you run software updates.

[–] dumples@midwest.social 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Or you haven't poured enough milk and porridge into your computer. Depends on the tomte

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago

If you see sparks and smoke coming from the computer, you can be pretty sure you’re doing something wrong.

[–] VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

So you're saying that if I stop feeding my mogwai after midnight I should be able to plug in my USB devices on the first try?