created using: https://marshdeer.github.io/xkcd2501-generator/
based on: https://lemmy.world/post/53081436 by @VegOwOtenks@lemmy.world
original: https://xkcd.com/2501
see also: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2501:_Average_Familiarity
this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2026
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Most people actually probably don't know what an operating system is.
Just as accurately, the meme could be:
Actually, the joke was that experts assume normies would know BSDs and Linux. The fact of it is, most normies don't know any OS.
My point was that whomever edited the comic was actually overestimating the average person's knowledge. They assumed normies know any OS, even the ones most folks use daily (Android or iOS).
The joke is that experts overestimate the normies, which they do, so it tracks.
It's literally spelt out on the comic.
Correct. That is the joke. In the comic.
I'm saying that whomever modified this comic (which is about overestimating normies) overestimated the normies during the editing proccess, by skipping over Android and iOS (which implies that the editor assumed normies would know them).
It's sort of a meta-joke.
I get why they would know only windows and macos, but none at all?!
Many people do not think about an OS when they think Windows or Mac
"Windows computer" "apple computer"
Still, a lot of people don't think of computers as anything beyond "computer", and wouldn't be able to make that distinction.
With phones you're lucky if they can differentiate between "Apple" and "Android" (with "Apple" meaning "like my phone" and "Android" meaning "weird Apple clone"). I remember in 2018/2019 we were filming something on our phones with an external mic and the person who provided the mics first smugly thought me an idiot and then was completely dumbfounded when I passed on a lightning to 3.5mm adapter for connecting the mic. Yes, this isn't about operating systems. But it shows that there's a kind of person that doesn't consider tech being like anything beyond what their device is like
I've had people tell me the make before.
They simply don't know what an OS is. To them, the UI is simply part of the phone; it's a package deal.