Stroop Effect, XKCD comics and The BDLPSWDKS Effect

An XKCD comic poking fun at comibations of scientific effects

XKCD is a very popular webcomic which makes lots of nerd jokes and meta humour. It is by a former NASA engineer called Randall Munroe. It is basically a stick-figure comic strip featuring humour about technology, science, mathematics and relationships. A new one published thrice a week.

• The Stroop effect refers to the phenomenon in which it is easier to name the color of the ink in which a word is written when the word refers to the same color as the ink than when the word refers to a different color.
• This is referenced by the stick figure diving out faster if the driver screams "red!" than if the driver screams "green!", as the firetruck is red and therefore it may create a moment of confusion for the person if the driver shouts "green!".

The Stroop effect makes it difficult for a person who knows to read the language to name the color when doing it quickly. For reference, here is the Stroop effect in Russian. It works only on those who can read Russian.

Посмотрите на картинку и назвать цвета они написаны. Не сказать, что написанные слова

Coming back to XKCD, if you find that the XKCD comic jokes are going over your head, this wiki based website should help explain it to you.



For instance, this particular comic's explanation has been started by explaining the individual effect, though the joke is still being searched for.

The BDLPSWDKS Effect in the title is an acronym for Bernoulli-Doppler-Leidenfrost-Peltzman-Sapir-Whorf-Dunning-Kruger-Stroop Effect, as explained by Ponytail in the comic. She stands in front of a slide that shows Cueball being subjected to this effect.
The effect mentioned appears to be a mashup of seven scientific principles (with nine scientists names included) from different scientific fields, with elements from each principle appearing in the resulting description of the effect:

• Bernoulli's principle in fluid dynamics (also mentioned in 803: Airfoil) states that an increase in the speed of a fluid with certain properties occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy.

• This is referenced by the firetruck lifting off and hurtling.

• The Doppler effect in physics refers to the change in a wave's frequency for an observer moving relative to its source. Sound from the oncoming firetruck increases in pitch.

• This is referenced by Cueball reacting faster if the shouting is in a non-tonal language than a tonal language. In tonal languages, changes in pitch change the meaning, thus tonal langauges may suffer more from Doppler distortion than non-tonal ones.

• The Leidenfrost effect refers to how liquid will produce an insulating vapor layer when in near contact with an extremely hot surface, causing it to hover over said surface.

• This is referenced by the firetruck lifting off on a layer of superheated gas.

• The Peltzman effect refers to how regulations intended to increase safety are ineffective or counterproductive because people, feeling safer, will engage in riskier behaviours.

• This is referenced by the firefighter speeding due to the feeling of safety he/she has in a modern firetruck, subsequently creating a hazardous situation and reducing the safety of the pedestrian.

• The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis states that a person's world view and cognitive processes are affected by the structure of the language the person speaks.

• This is referenced by languages with a word for "firefighter" giving a quicker reaction. If Cueball speaks (or is currently thinking in) a language without a word for "firefighter", he might be slower to recognize the role and authority of the driver warning him, and thus slower to react to the danger.

• The Dunning–Kruger effect refers to unskilled people mistakenly perceiving themselves as more skilled than they really are, while skilled people underestimate their own abilities.

• This is referenced by the tonal language being a language Cueball thinks he is fluent in but isn't.

• The Stroop effect refers to the phenomenon in which it is easier to name the color of the ink in which a word is written when the word refers to the same color as the ink than when the word refers to a different color.

• This is referenced by Cueball diving out faster if the driver screams "red!" than if the driver screams "green!", as the firetruck is red and therefore it may create a moment of confusion for Cueball if the driver shouts "green!".

Usually, for an effect to be considered real, the scientific method requires the effect to be replicated by different experimenters in different times and places. It is hard to imagine several scientists in different parts of the world creating the setup to replicate this effect; however the title text mentions (maybe sarcastically) it has been done countless times.