Trust Me: Google "Thanos" and Click on the Gauntlet

If you haven't tried this yet, google "Thanos" and click on the gauntlet.

You're welcome.

Awesome Google Doodle

The new Google Doodle, which celebrates Georges Méliès, is really, really cool. Go interact with it!

Playing Mario Kart on Google Maps to Celebrate Mario Day!

In celebration of Mario Day (Mar 10), Google is letting people play a version of Mario Kart on Google Maps.

I have a key question: Where are the best places to inflict lightning bolts on people?

In conclusion, come get some!

(Tip of the cap to Gabrielle Birkman, who indicates that there are places to get banana peels and turtle shells.)

What Have People Been Googling Since the Election?

This probably says a lot about my sense of humor, but I think the funniest state googling lead, hands down, is Mississippi (especially in the context of what everybody else is asking about). People in that state have googled "3 Doors Down" more than any other state.

(Tip of the cap to George Takei.)

The Most Googled Job in Each State

Here is a visualization of some jobs that each U.S. state led in Google searches. Some of these are fantastic.

(Tip of the cap to Kin Chan.)

Google + Star Wars

Yup, there is some cool stuff in the Google–Star Wars mash-up.

What Happens in London Stays in London

I just made it to London for a Mathematics and Social Sciences Workshop. When I was first invited to speak at this workshop, it had the tentative name of a "Socio-math Workshop", and Google gave me a nice surprise when I tried to find a website for the workshop.

Thank you, Google. (Context: I will be a plenary speaker at a workshop on "Socio-mathematics" in November.) pic.twitter.com/ZpWUWXWwjd

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) April 9, 2015

Sociomath Workshop: Best. Google Search. Ever.

I am going to be a plenary speaker at a workshop on "Socio-mathematics" at Imperial College in November. I was curious to see if there is a website, but Google seems to think that other words might be more appropriate.

Thank you, Google.

Play Pac-Man on Google Maps

Yes, really: You can now use maps in Google Maps to play Pac-Man. I approve!

In case you're interested, you can try a map near Somerville College in Oxford (and also necessarily near the Mathematical Institute). Or perhaps catching Pokémon is more aligned with your tastes?

Or, if you prefer, you can play a live-action version with smartphones.

(Tip of the cap to Jimmy Lin.)

Update: Here is the post from Google's product manager about the new feature. (Tip of the cap to Mary Radcliffe for this link. Apparently, her husband is the person at Google who created this particular gem.) Ah, I love it when April 1st comes along. :)

Update (4/01/15): the article on CNN.com shows several example mazes from different parts of the world.

Update (4/08/15): Wired.com now has an article about this, which is affectionately called "Pac-Maps". Also, here are the "top" places (which are isolated to just a few cities) to play Pac-Maps. Harvard Square is insane.

Google Celebrates Emmy Noether's 133rd Birthday

Mathematician Emmy Noether is the subject of today's Google doodle. I approve!

(Tip of the cap to several people.)

Well Played, Google

I wholeheartedly approve of today's Google Doodle.

Leonhard Euler Has Been Doodled!

Leonhard Euler is the subject of the Google Doodle for 15 April 2013. This is the 306th anniversary of his birth.

(Tip of the cap to Kreso Josic.)

Awesome Google Doodle!

Today's (Feb 14) Google Doodle is superb! It honors both Valentine's Day and George Ferris. It is also interactive, and you can see different pairs of animals go out on dates. The fox is pretty damn funny, and the date between the bear and the octopus is hilarious. I approve!

Absolutely Legendary

I decided to check what Google Books felt are the most similar books to Legends of Caltech III: Techer in the Dark. Some of them make sense, but others are a bit surprising. The following books were on the first page:

Lectures on Physics: Exercises by Feynman (yay!)

Legends of Caltech (of course)

Proceedings [Volume 1] of the National Academy of Sciences (ok, I can go with that)

The Brotherhood of Eternal Love: From Flower Power to Hippie Mafia: The Story of the LSD Counterculture (I actually know why that is there ... something to do with "Lloyd grade")

and ... Mentally Incontinent (wait... what?)



P.S. Wait until the movie comes out!

The Redshirt in Google Doodle

All I have to say is this: Follow this Google Doodle (with a Star Trek theme) to the end, and see what happens to the redshirt...

Another Win for Google Doodle

Today's Google doodle celebrates the 100th anniversary of Alan Turing's birth. And this is one sweet Google doodle!

Google Doodle of the Day: Moog Synthesizer

This rocks.

New "Quest Mode" in Google Maps

This appears to be an early April Fools joke, and it is an awesome one indeed! Check out quest mode in Google Maps. It's available in the upper right corner. That is just awesome. Now you can imagine your attempt to find directions just like back in the day on the NES.

(Tip of the cap to Louis Wang.)

Today's Google Doodle is Awesome!

Today's Google Doodle is awesome! It honors the late Jim Henson on his 75th birthday. I played around with it a bit, and I managed to get the red monster-muppet on the right to eat the long green stringy muppet next to it. Hilarious! I also got the second one from the left to briefly lose its glasses, which was also pretty amusing.

For reasons I don't understand, connecting to YouTube from Somerville has been abysmally slow lately, but I did something else while the page took forever to load and then I watched this hilarious video. (I wonder if the painfully slow loading of YouTube is a firewall issue?) I'm sure that there are many more of these to come.

(Tip of the cap to Jimmy Lin.)

Quote of the Day: Google Edition

Somebody got to my website in an attempt to find the phrase sex is the subjugation of the desire to do mathematics. I have no idea who, if anybody, said this---but I tip my hat to him/her.

And if you do know the origin of this quote, please let me know.