0889: "Turtles"

[big boss]

Some of you are rather snobbish, uptight, prudish, and seem to think that anything other than an obscure reference with an intelligent spin is beneath you when it comes to these comics. Lighten the Hell up. xD

No kidding!

Personally, I think it's a great comic. Maybe if some of these people tried a little less hard to analyze it, they'd see the (rather obvious) point he's trying to make with it.

So true, people often fail to take pleasure in the simple things in life because its below them...

[TheDoctor]

I think therefore I am.

[J L]

If xkcd gets too brainy, people don't like it.
If it gets too simplistic, people don't like it.

Incidentally, I think this is exactly what I like about this strip: The turtle (and yes, it is a turtle, especially in American English, according to Wikipedia, my Collins Dictionary and whatever you like ...) doesn't have that problem with differing opinions ... it doesn't not know whether it deleted a file (whatever that might be from a turtle perspective) or not. Men have files and recycle bins and all kinds of stuff. Turtles have clarity. And that's cool (call me a hippie if you like).

(By the way, didn't they translate "tortoise" as "Chelonie" or something crazy like that in the German-dubbed Blade Runner ...?)

[aegiswings]

If xkcd gets too brainy, people don't like it.
If it gets too simplistic, people don't like it.

Incidentally, I think this is exactly what I like about this strip: The turtle (and yes, it is a turtle, especially in American English, according to Wikipedia, my Collins Dictionary and whatever you like ...) doesn't have that problem with differing opinions ... it doesn't not know whether it deleted a file (whatever that might be from a turtle perspective) or not. Men have files and recycle bins and all kinds of stuff. Turtles have clarity. And that's cool (call me a hippie if you like).

(By the way, didn't they translate "tortoise" as "Chelonie" or something crazy like that in the German-dubbed Blade Runner ...?)

"Turtles have clarity."

There is where you are wrong. We don't know whether turtles have clarity or not because we are not turtles. Turtles appear to lack any kind of what we would consider intelligence. Or turtles could be balls of stress and worry about all kinds of turtle things all the time for all we know. The only think we can really assume is that turtles probably don't care about deleted files.

Simplistic comics are fine, if they are saying something deep in a simple way, or maybe if they are telling a simple, yet amusing joke. But this is just simple, and not really saying anything interesting at all.

This is why I don't hang out with stoners. And also because I don't want to watch "Finding Nemo" again for the 1000th time.

[janhunt]

It's turtles all the way down!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down

[buddy431]

No, it's like saying you're a monkey. Primate => testudines, tortoise => human, turtle => monkey.

Turtles are marine reptiles, tortoises are land reptiles. If you put a tortoise in water it'd drown.

Except apes, including humans are monkeys, at least if you use any sort of taxonomic classification system that has any sort of consistency at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz52ivJgVx8

If your ancestors were monkeys, you're a monkey. If your ancestors were turtles, you're a turtle. It's as simple as that.

[fibonacci]

http://www.cartoonbank.com/2000/have-yo ... vt/120133/

[Sire Styx]

Lol cool comic. I didn't read too much into it, as it just seemed nice.

So, how are you holding up? Because, I'm a potato.

And I just thought I'd say how awesome that is

[fimzo]

I am the eggman... They are the eggmen... I am the turtle...

[slightlydead]

turtle svn??

[exiledone]

I read the comic, chuckled and moved on. Then it showed up no less than 4 times in my Google reader's recommended items this morning. Thus Google's algorithm led me to believe there was something really cool about this comic that I was missing.....

[cellocgw]

Am I the only one who thought of "You bet your bippy." ?

[bigjeff5]

At first I thought this comic was kind of cute but not really all that funny. Not up to Randal's usual snuff.

However, after three pages of argument over whether or not tortoises are turtles (any decent biologist will tell you they are exactly the same thing - one likes the water, one doesn't - "tortoise" is just a description of a sub-group), arguing over whether it's a cleverly subtle joke of form A, a cleverly subtle joke of form B, the random drawings of a stoned cartoonist, or an angst-ridden cry for attention, I think it is clear that this is a brilliant execution of... something or other.

Is Randall trolling us? Is it possible to troll your own forums by drawing a vague, somewhat puzzling comic? Was Randall just feeling lazy?

I think the clear answer to all these questions and more is a definitive maybe.

[Sien]

Certainly the zen comic...

incidentally, while "randoming" through the old comics this morning, i fell on number 636 (Brontosaurus) which also mentioned a turtle, in a sort of existential metaphor.

[A_of_s_t]

No matter what Randall has done before, I think this counts as the most fucking stupid xkcd comic yet. I hope that's what he was going for.

This is the kind of joke I would expect from my brother's moron friends back in high school. Especially the "Turles have it figured out, man."

What figured out? And why are you talking like a crusty old drum circle hippy?

Agreed.

[lly]

anyone who doesn't laugh at turtle jokes think too highly of themselves.

There's a joke here?

[Chuang Tzu]

Once, when Chuang Tzu was fishing in the P'u river, the king of Ch'u sent two officials to go and announce to him: "I would like to trouble you with the administration of my realm."

Chuang Tzu held onto the fishing pole and, without turning his head, said, "I have heard that there is a sacred tortoise in Ch'u that has been dead for three thousand years. The king keeps it wrapped in cloth and boxed, and stores it in the ancestral temple. Now would this tortoise rather be dead and have its bones left behind and honored? Or would it rather be alive and dragging its tail in the mud?"

"It would rather be alive dragging its tail in the mud," said the two officials.

Chuang Tzu said, "Go away! I'll drag my tail in the mud!"

[DenzZz]

I refuse to accept, like most others it seems, that if I don't understand a joke then it mustn't be there.

[herbys]

I used to have a turtle, but it ran away. Seriously.
I think they have this trick, when you stop looking at them they move much faster. You are looking at them and they move in slow motion and go nowhere. You face the other side for a minute and when you look back at where the turtle used to be it has moved 10m.
Those are tricky creatures if you ask me.

[cphite]

If xkcd gets too brainy, people don't like it.
If it gets too simplistic, people don't like it.

Incidentally, I think this is exactly what I like about this strip: The turtle (and yes, it is a turtle, especially in American English, according to Wikipedia, my Collins Dictionary and whatever you like ...) doesn't have that problem with differing opinions ... it doesn't not know whether it deleted a file (whatever that might be from a turtle perspective) or not. Men have files and recycle bins and all kinds of stuff. Turtles have clarity. And that's cool (call me a hippie if you like).

(By the way, didn't they translate "tortoise" as "Chelonie" or something crazy like that in the German-dubbed Blade Runner ...?)

"Turtles have clarity."

There is where you are wrong. We don't know whether turtles have clarity or not because we are not turtles. Turtles appear to lack any kind of what we would consider intelligence. Or turtles could be balls of stress and worry about all kinds of turtle things all the time for all we know. The only think we can really assume is that turtles probably don't care about deleted files.

The turtle is going to be a turtle no matter how many files you delete; and will remain a turtle long after your deleted files are forgotten. The point is... well, one possible point is... that most of the everyday stuff that people get all worked up about is actually pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, and the people (or reptiles) that understand this tend to find the most happiness in life.

Simplistic comics are fine, if they are saying something deep in a simple way, or maybe if they are telling a simple, yet amusing joke. But this is just simple, and not really saying anything interesting at all.

Sure, because obviously if it was saying something then you would have seen it... it's just not possible that you'd miss something that other people are seeing... why, the very notion.... it would mean that....

This is why I don't hang out with stoners. And also because I don't want to watch "Finding Nemo" again for the 1000th time.

Because any point that you can't grasp immediately must surely be something irrational... something drug induced... indeed, maybe even crazy...

[clihnacik]

Today's post really reminds me of Chapter 3 of The Grapes of Wrath. A turtle was a great choice. They really do have it all figured out, man.

[cyanyoshi]

Randall was obviously not on drugs when he wrote this (compare to http://xkcd.com/68/ ). I took this comic as a sympathetic parody of stoner culture. This is not his best work ever, but I'll take it.

[Steve the Pocket]

This makes me imagine some kind of commercial. Like, "There are two ways to avoid having to worry about lost files." "Did I delete my file?" "Become a turtle..." "I'm a turtle." "...or get FileSafe™ AutoBackup™ 2011." "Oh wait, there it is." "I'm a turtle."

"...I'm a turtle."

Fast forward to a week later when everyone's linking the ad on YouTube, quoting it, and making parodies of it on Newgrounds. Then someone does a mashup with the "I like turtles" kid. Then a month after that, it gets its own page on Know Your Meme.

[RobKohr]

In a biological respect, a tortoise is a kind of a turtle, but not all turtles are tortoises.


http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-dif ... rtoise.htm

[J L]

"Turtles have clarity."

There is where you are wrong. We don't know whether turtles have clarity or not because we are not turtles. Turtles appear to lack any kind of what we would consider intelligence. Or turtles could be balls of stress and worry about all kinds of turtle things all the time for all we know. The only think we can really assume is that turtles probably don't care about deleted files.

Of course I reserve my right to submit myself to the usual pathetic fallacy regarding turtles ... and I really hope they don't worry a lot, because nothing freaks humans more out than having their preconceptions proven wrong.

The turtle is going to be a turtle no matter how many files you delete; and will remain a turtle long after your deleted files are forgotten. The point is... well, one possible point is... that most of the everyday stuff that people get all worked up about is actually pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, and the people (or reptiles) that understand this tend to find the most happiness in life.

+1

[wearied]

I am completely ignorant about turtles. I can only have one one-dimensional thought about a turtle: "you are a turtle." I can't imagine any other thought a turtle might have about itself, or at all.

I am not completely ignorant about myself. I have direct knowledge of the complexity of my own thoughts. I find them more complex than my imagined thoughts of a turtle.

Not only do turtles think about themselves, but they think the same thoughts about themselves that we think about them. This is science.

[Ephemeron]

I think it would have been cool [...] if he had released this on Monday, and then did 4 more Tuesday-Friday where it's the same comic, but a different animal each time.

Something like this?

Comic title: Cats

Spoiler:

Comic title: Squirrels

Spoiler:

Comic title: Snakes

Spoiler:

Comic title: Sharks

Spoiler:

Well, doing those was fun. I'll post them on xkcdsw when I think of some alt texts.

[SirMustapha]

My brain hurts. It seriously, seriously hurts. Now the people who don't see any humour in the comic are arrogant snobs who either: 1) "Don't lighten up"; 2) "Don't see the point"; 3) "Think they're way above it". You either have to bend your whole will and taste to accept any shit Randall throws at you, or you're some jerk who doesn't enjoy life. If Randall knows that much about his target audience, then I can understand why xkcd took such nosedive in quality: he doesn't need to try! His sycophantic fanboys will bully every naysayer who dares to speak his mind, and it will seem like only truly evil people don't like his comics.

"Lighten up"? The only folks here who need to "lighten up" are the fanboys who are throwing a fit. Some people just don't see humour on the comic. That's their opinion! That's just it! Surely they are entitled to it, not? If they have to hear such things as "You are snobbish, uptight, prudish and you should lighten up", folks like vodka.cobra should be given a Nobel Peace Prize for having to cope with that crap.

[aegiswings]

The turtle is going to be a turtle no matter how many files you delete; and will remain a turtle long after your deleted files are forgotten. The point is... well, one possible point is... that most of the everyday stuff that people get all worked up about is actually pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, and the people (or reptiles) that understand this tend to find the most happiness in life.

Not really sure where you get that. He found the file in the third panel, so no big deal either way. You could also interpret the comic as... things happen; we go on living our lives and turtles go on living theirs. If your interpretation really is the point Randall is trying to make, it's awfully hackneyed, poorly executed, and there are many other examples of art that do it better.

Or maybe you can interpret it as, "Hey, you have a pet turtle and you are forgetting to feed it!". I like the latter interpretation better. But they are both still pretty stupid.

Simplistic comics are fine, if they are saying something deep in a simple way, or maybe if they are telling a simple, yet amusing joke. But this is just simple, and not really saying anything interesting at all.

Sure, because obviously if it was saying something then you would have seen it... it's just not possible that you'd miss something that other people are seeing... why, the very notion.... it would mean that....

I didn't see it, which is why I came here to see if anyone else was able to offer up a reasonable interpretation. No one has yet and I've nearly given up.

This is why I don't hang out with stoners. And also because I don't want to watch "Finding Nemo" again for the 1000th time.

Because any point that you can't grasp immediately must surely be something irrational... something drug induced... indeed, maybe even crazy...

Again, give me a reasonable explanation as to the meaning of this comic, whether drug-induced, surreal, existentional, zen or whatever.

[TA67]

anyone who doesn't laugh at turtle jokes think too highly of themselves.

You gotta be kidding me. Is that how you deal with contrary opinions? "You have a perfectly valid personal opinion, and that makes you an arrogant snob". And then people get annoyed with the "trolls".

hahaha, I wasn't even trying to troll. I feel like everytime there's a new comic and I go on the forums to see what people have to say about it, there's always a few induviduals who feel the need to either:

a) nitpick through it trying to find mistakes and crying foul when said mistake is found
b) if it's one of his simpler comics (such as today), dismiss it as being under your obviously superior sense of humor

lighten the hell up, it's a comic. on the internet. if you're trying to find faults with it then you're doing it wrong.

overall,

Some of you are rather snobbish, uptight, prudish, and seem to think that anything other than an obscure reference with an intelligent spin is beneath you when it comes to these comics. Lighten the Hell up. xD

please take his advice. good day.

[dexeron]

I'm so glad I wasn't the first person to think of Logo.

[torontoraptor]

ITT

[Lunar Savage]

My brain hurts. It seriously, seriously hurts. Now the people who don't see any humour in the comic are arrogant snobs who either: 1) "Don't lighten up"; 2) "Don't see the point"; 3) "Think they're way above it". You either have to bend your whole will and taste to accept any shit Randall throws at you, or you're some jerk who doesn't enjoy life. If Randall knows that much about his target audience, then I can understand why xkcd took such nosedive in quality: he doesn't need to try! His sycophantic fanboys will bully every naysayer who dares to speak his mind, and it will seem like only truly evil people don't like his comics.

"Lighten up"? The only folks here who need to "lighten up" are the fanboys who are throwing a fit. Some people just don't see humour on the comic. That's their opinion! That's just it! Surely they are entitled to it, not? If they have to hear such things as "You are snobbish, uptight, prudish and you should lighten up", folks like vodka.cobra should be given a Nobel Peace Prize for having to cope with that crap.

I'm no fanboy of his work. There have been a few comics that didn't make me laugh at all. Yet I didn't feel the need to call his work complete shit and show my ass just because it didn't cater to my tastes. xD

Which is what most of the complainers have done here.

[cphite]

The turtle is going to be a turtle no matter how many files you delete; and will remain a turtle long after your deleted files are forgotten. The point is... well, one possible point is... that most of the everyday stuff that people get all worked up about is actually pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, and the people (or reptiles) that understand this tend to find the most happiness in life.

Not really sure where you get that. He found the file in the third panel, so no big deal either way. You could also interpret the comic as... things happen; we go on living our lives and turtles go on living theirs. If your interpretation really is the point Randall is trying to make, it's awfully hackneyed, poorly executed, and there are many other examples of art that do it better.

As I said, it was one possible interpretation. One of the nice things about both philosophy and art is that you can have more than one right answer to nearly any question - as irritating as that might be to folks who are overly concerned about being "right" all the time.

Or maybe you can interpret it as, "Hey, you have a pet turtle and you are forgetting to feed it!". I like the latter interpretation better. But they are both still pretty stupid.

Or maybe the turtle installed VSS on the users computer, which is what allowed him to recover the file?

[madaco]

Are turtles self aware?

that might be the point.
(Ok, probably not, but thats what my point would be if I drew this, but it would have a different caption, and you wouldn't be able to tell that it was a turtle, but...)

[aegiswings]

ok, enough arguing.

Can we all just agree that this is the worst. xkcd. ever?

If you don't agree, which one is worse?

[cphite]

ok, enough arguing.

Can we all just agree that this is the worst. xkcd. ever?

If you don't agree, which one is worse?

Nope. I like this one.

[Cal Engime]

ok, enough arguing.

Can we all just agree that this is the worst. xkcd. ever?

If you don't agree, which one is worse?

[darkwombat]

I thought this comic was just fine! Of course, I *am* a turtle.

Furthermore, if you did not enjoy this comic, then YOU SHALL BUILD A TURTLE FENCE!

(Alas, I cannot link to the appropriate clip, but googling "turtle fence" should prove adequate to enlighten)

Thank you for your attention, and to sum up: I am a turtle. And a wombat. I am a turtlebat.

[Andrusi]

ok, enough arguing.

Can we all just agree that this is the worst. xkcd. ever?

If you don't agree, which one is worse?

http://www.xkcd.com/118/