2021 Ig Nobel Prizes!

The 2021 Ig Nobel laureates have been announced!

I think my favorite one this year is the prize in chemistry, but I of course have fondness for the winners in complex systems (especially with one of them published in Physical Review E).

"Twitter" in 1803: The Finger of Contempt

Twitter: 1803 style

Now where did I put my 👉Finger of Contempt? https://t.co/Y1yoNVLMtm

(h/t David Blau)

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) March 24, 2021

My Top-5 Emoji: The Power of Positive Thinking

😱🙄🤔🙀🤢

Yup. My top-5 emoji certainly do appear to be my aesthetic.

Because I believe in the power of positive thinking. https://t.co/XizplVRldD

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) March 16, 2021

Brilliant Headstones

There are some brilliant epitaphs on these tombstones. I have seen a few of them before (such as "I Told You I Was Sick", which is a favorite), but there are a lot of great ones I hadn't yet seen.

Gollum's Cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U"

This deepfake of Gollum covering the song "Nothing Compares 2 U" is wrong on many, many levels. It's also glorious.

Witness the power of deepfakes! If I ever again speak at a workshop about deepfakes, I am whipping out this video.

(This cover needs to be used as a Ride chaser.)

(Tip of the cap to Jennifer Ouellette.)

Tales from the ArXiv: "A Nudge Framework"

A new paper that just appeared on arXiv this evening is called "Steering the aggregative behavior of noncooperative agents: a nudge framework". I come from a Jewish family, so I am very familiar with this strategy.

XKCD: Linguists (and Probably How My Coauthors Feel)

I deeply understand today's XKCD about linguists. Also, given my linguistic tendencies, I think the person in the hole probably has feelings that are similar to those of my coauthors. ;)

And don't forget to read the mouseover text.

2020 Ig Nobel Laureates

This year's Ig Nobel laureates were announced in today's ceremony. 

 I have some fondness for the Physics prize (for exciting Faraday-like waves in earthworms), given that nonlinear dynamics and pattern formation are involved, and several of the other ones are also very amusing, but I think that my favorite one this year is the one in Management:

(奚广安) Xi Guang-An, (莫天祥) Mo Tian-Xiang, (杨康生) Yang Kang-Sheng, (杨广生) Yang Guang-Sheng, and (凌显四) Ling Xian Si, five professional hitmen in Guangxi, China, who managed a contract for a hit job (a murder performed for money) in the following way: After accepting payment to perform the murder, Xi Guang-An then instead subcontracted the task to Mo Tian-Xiang, who then instead subcontracted the task to Yang Kang-Sheng, who then instead subcontracted the task to Yang Guang-Sheng, who then instead subcontracted the task to Ling Xian-Si, with each subsequently enlisted hitman receiving a smaller percentage of the fee, and nobody actually performing a murder.

"{Location, Location, Location}"

I am amused by today's xkcd.

I am going to steal the mouseover text for other nefarious purposes: "The most important attributes of a vector in 3-space are {Location, Location, Location}"

Tales from the ArXiv: "Dandling" Ends in Networks

The typo in this paper is pretty amusing, and I think that the authors should go with it.

August Madness

Fill our your brackets! Which school will be the last to go fully online?

I am laughing to keep from crying. It's always been an important survival skill for me.

Also, I wish I had thought of this particular piece of snark.

(Tip of the cap to Barry Wellman.)

New XKCD: "Mathematical Symbol Fight"

XKCD understands me.

By the way, I don't agree with this ordering.

"And Then the Dragons Arrived."

I am amused. :)

Let's try this with my own book: "Traditionally, much of the study of networks has focused on structural features. And then the dragons arrived."

You know, that kind of works. I want to write this book!

This is the book (coauthored with @gleesonj): https://t.co/PtNjiV7voB https://t.co/lZevcObzYt

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) April 27, 2020

A Paper Called "Lunch Menu" on Google Scholar

I love it!

"Lunch Menu" by T. B. Dishes and P. Kids also exists, cited 14 times https://t.co/8RR1rvYfKs

— Hiroki Sayama (@HirokiSayama) April 21, 2020

It's (Probably Not) the End of the World as we Know it (and I Feel Fine)

According to this article, "This is not the end of the world, according to Christians who study the end of the world". What a relief!

(Tip of the cap to the Improbable Research blog.)

A Song for Today's Era of Social Distancing

First: How did I not think of Don't Stand So Close To Me (by The Police) as a snarky thing to pass along in today's efforts at social distancing?

Second: I am proud that one of my PhD students brought up this song in his e-mail just now. Between that and the fact that another of my PhD students has The Princess Bride as one of her favorite movies.

(In case you needed even more evidence that I have awesome students...)

Preparing to Teach Classes in Cyberspace

In preparation for online lecturing, I am practicing using Zoom with my cousin.

There appears to be a time lag. pic.twitter.com/GgRI95tku9

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) March 14, 2020

Glora Gayner Demonstrating Thorough Hand-Washing by Singing "I Will Survive"

This video is pretty fantastic because it's wonderfully meta.

A Physical Hand-Washing Mnemonic

My favorite is "grant offering"! ;)

An easy way to remember hand-washing procedure. pic.twitter.com/zjwnEZIq5D

— Chris Ferrie (@csferrie) March 5, 2020

(Tip of the cap to Eva Miranda.)

Attention, Reuters: Proper Use of Colons is Important

Gosh, I hope the governor recovers soon. 🙄

(Reuters needs to make sure everyone on staff takes an English class.) https://t.co/Kh6KtDlUej

— Dr. Jonathan Foley (@GlobalEcoGuy) March 2, 2020

(Tip of the cap to Calling Bullshit.)

Update: Well, from the link (below) that Gregg Schneider just sent me, it appears that Reuters may have a writer who does not understand how to use colons properly.

Just one American with coronavirus still in hospital: Vice President Pence https://t.co/0aM9djXlEx pic.twitter.com/Zha44JLUmb

— Reuters (@Reuters) February 28, 2020