May 2025

We all have stuff we know well and don’t. I know the % charge on my phone to within a few percent and the current time to within a few minutes — no matter when you ask. But I have no idea how much money there is in my pocket.

Things I know within 5% error	Things I get wrong by ~500%
Current time	Time to finish my current task
My weight	My next meal
% charge on my phone	How long the phone will last
Number of unread emails	Time to clear them
Price of my next earphones	Cash in my wallet
Length of this list	How long it will go before I stop

But this apart, it turns out generating xkcd style comic strips is harder than I thought.

• ChatGPT refuses outright
• Grok can’t draw, only edit
• Grok doesn’t edit well either
• Claude tried to write a program that misses the font AND the wavy lines

Gemini Flash 2.0 (Image Generation) Experimental gets it mostly right, though.

Qwen3-30b-a3b:

<think>
Okay, so I need to figure out what the capital of France is. Let me start by recalling what I know about countries and their capitals. France is a country in Europe, right? I think it’s known for things like the Eiffel Tower, Paris, and maybe some famous foods like croissants or wine.

Wait, but the question is specifically asking for the capital. The capital of a country is usually the city where the government is based. So, for example, the capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. So applying that logic to France, I need to think about which city is the seat of the French government.

I remember hearing that Paris is a major city in France. It’s often referred to as the “City of Light” or something like that. But is Paris actually the capital? Or is there another city that serves as the capital? Let me think. Sometimes countries have different cities for different purposes, like a capital city and a financial center. For instance, Brazil’s capital is Brasília, but Rio de Janeiro is more well-known. However, I don’t think France has a similar situation.

Another way to approach this is to consider the political structure of France. The French government is a semi-presidential republic, so the president is the head of state. I think the Eiffel Tower is in Paris, but that’s more of a landmark than the governmental center.

What about other French cities? There’s Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux… But those are major cities too, but not capitals. Wait, maybe there was some historical context where the capital changed? Like, during times of war or political upheaval. For example, during the French Revolution, did they move the government somewhere else?

I should also think about other countries in Europe. The capital of Italy is Rome, Spain is Madrid, Germany is Berlin. So France’s capital would logically be a major city. Paris seems to fit here. But just to make sure, maybe there’s a common misconception. For example, someone might confuse the capital with the largest city or the most famous one. However, I think in this case, Paris is both the largest and the capital.

Alternatively, could it be Versailles? Because the Palace of Versailles is a famous historical site, but that was more the royal residence during the reign of Louis XIV. The French government isn’t based there anymore. So even though Versailles is an important city in French history, it’s not the current capital.

Another angle: if I search my memory for any mentions of Paris as the capital. For instance, when people talk about France’s cultural aspects, they often mention Paris as the center.

I think I’m pretty confident that the answer is Paris. But just to double-check, maybe there are some sources. Wait, if I can’t look it up right now, but relying on my knowledge, yes, Paris is the capital of France.
</think>

The capital of France is Paris.