1016: "Valentine Dilemma"

[addams]

It is not,
"Dumber than a jar of Hamsters."
It is,
"Dumber than a box of Rocks."

I had a box of rocks. Rocks are so fun.

Oh, For a hot glue gun and someone to care for. And; To be cared for in return.

Nice. The world is full of human Relationships.
The people that you meet each day.

Family projects. Cities are big family projects.

I love this city. It is a strange one. I drop heart shaped confette this time of year. There are a few stars left from winter. Who know what will happen next?

[Philyphil]

I just sent today's comic as my Valentine's gift to my other half. Thanks Randall

[EpicanicusStrikes]

I am not a coward, nor an incoherent prick.

And never let anyone tell you otherwise. You're actually highly coherent.

... and what is the point of having an ego if you don't give it a rub every now an then...

Amazing. I've always said the exact same thing about my penis.

[dsawatzky]

Possibly? But he was referring to http://xkcd.com/601/
(I didn't mean Randall... I meant Quicksilver's ref)

... Which is also a reference to the movie "War Games". The super computer WOPR has a Game menu through which it can learn about game strategy. In addition to tic-tac-toe, Checkers and Chess, it has more advanced games... like "Global Thermonuclear War".

[Nylonathatep]

What's this "Valentine's Day" You people are talking about?

I celebrate Single Awareness Day, it's on Feb 14th, every year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singles_Awareness_Day


P.S Check the acronym.

[drakvl]

Seeing as my last few posts might make me appear a bit belligerent, I'm gonna turn down the sarcasm and aggression. And, since people probably want to get their nerd on, this will be my last post addressing SirMustapha.

Mustapha: Remember, the forum is a community. Your first words in this thread were, "Remember this comic is pandering to a 'class' of people who consider social ineptitude as a sort of virtue" -- a broad-brushed insult aimed at the community in which you are participating. On top of that, the strip is not about social ineptness, but overthinking a problem, which was stated explicitly in the comic; maybe they're usually this socially inept, but even people who aren't have days like this. The last strip which might be interpreted as about ineptness, vaguely, was Wrong Superhero, five strips ago, which gives four strips since then not about social ineptness (Sheeple was about arrogance, and the humor of unintended literalness). Finally, are you a fan of science fiction? I suspect not. SF is notorious for putting the Idea before the story and characters (e.g., Susan Calvin). I am not saying Randall is an Asimov, but that what draws your ire doesn't matter to the rest of us, because the appeal, at least for me, and I'm sure it holds for many other fans, is the idea of the strip.

I have no reason to doubt your claims that you are a former fan, hoping to reclaim that spark you felt before; I'm sure we all have some work we wish would return to its glory days. However, look around the posts. What's the number one thing that's going on in these threads? Usually, the thread is not about the comic, but geekiness relevant to the comic -- in this case, we have a bit of a discussion of game theory popping up. Even if that's not the case, your repeated statements of dissatisfaction for every new strip are perplexing. For example, when the Sci-Fi Channel aired the series "Mad Mad House," I found the forum, and posted my reason for disliking the show *once*, then moved on with my life. The issue is not your dislike for XKCD, but the fact that you always say the same thing; your posts hardly ever provide new information.

[whateveries]

... and what is the point of having an ego if you don't give it a rub every now an then...

Amazing. I've always said the exact same thing about my penis.

some would suggest it is the same thing. (uh oh, ego jam)


*edit-stuffled quote nest*

[Katifer Dragonite]

The best Valentines gift that I've seen this year, given to my friend, was a carton of blackcurrant juice, because she loves juice. She was practically cuddling it as she walked around school all day, and trying to work out how to drink it without spilling it on her white uniform shirt. Possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen

[Kalypso]

I registered just so I could come in here and brag that I got a jar of hammers for Valentine's day. Apparently, my love drove all over looking for inexpensive hammers *just* so he could get me a jar of hammers.

[jpk]

What's this "Valentine's Day" You people are talking about?

I celebrate Single Awareness Day, it's on Feb 14th, every year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singles_Awareness_Day


P.S Check the acronym.

What, you mean... oh! VD, very clever!

[atrahasis]

I cannot believe I'm the first person to notice the bad grammar in the alt text. It should read, "The worst resolution to the Valentine Prisoner's Dilemma _IS_ when" etc. I thought for sure xkcd readers were too smart to overlook something this blatant.

Mayvbe, like me, they spotted it but weren't about to waste their life posting about it on the internet.

Yes, your life was clearly less-wasted posting not about the error but about what a waste of life posting about the error is. Didn't expect to find an asshole convention here. My mistake, after all this is still part of the internet.

I'm sorry, I appear to have trolled you.

[Invertin]

See, this is why long-distance relationships work. Neither of you expect valentines presents and thus no harm is done when neither of you have anything to give to eachother.

[Copper Bezel]

Ironically, he sold his gold staple remover in order to buy the hammers.

The strip made me happy, but this made my day. = )

And I want to use "dumber than a jar of hamsters" in conversation now, at least once.

Edited because I said exactly what I didn't mean. Oh dear, not fully conscious today.

[accoyle]

I was a few days behind on the comic, so it took me a day before I understood my boyfriend's present...

http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j216/guzza72/?action=view&current=xkcd1016.jpg

pardon the bland link, I just joined to share this with fellow xkcdians and it seems my BBC iwg f(x) is off...

[bigjeff5]

pardon the bland link, I just joined to share this with fellow xkcdians and it seems my BBC iwg f(x) is off...

It's not your fault, you need five or ten posts or some such before you can create a link, so just posting the URL is A-OK.

[ysth]

I don't do Xtian holidays

That's a shame, you really should try some green beer.

or beer.

[Elstree]

I'm finding it difficult to interpret this as Prisoner's Dilemma. If it were, there would be a clear best choice (give or not give) that would be independent of what the other person does. The Nash equilibrium would be for both characters to chose that option, and we'd see none of the frustrated hand-wringing that we do in the comic.

The type of game illustrated by the comic seems to me to be best characterized as a coordination game:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordination_game

In a coordination game, both players do better if they both choose the same option than if they each choose a different option. This dilemma is captured in the comic by the line "What if he gets me something and I don't reciprocate?" In this case, the couple will be best off if either both players give, or both players don't give. However, in the absence of communication (presumably because of norms about surprising the other party with a gift), there is no knowing what the other will do, and no way to know which option is the best choice. Thus the hand-wringing dilemma of the comic.

[Copper Bezel]

Yeah, it sounds like a closer match. Of course, the Prisoner's Dilemma is more well-known, and it's a similar problem. But it does seem that the worst case scenario here for both characters is that one "defects" and the other does not (though it's slightly worse for the one who doesn't,) and neither character is sure whether the best-case scenario is one where both "defect" or one where neither does.

[faeastflip]

I definitely let out a fairly audible laugh in the office with this one's alt text.

[Kick]

This still has to be one of my favorites.