What Could Possibly Go Wrong (1840s Edition)

Wow.

Also, look at the follow-up tweet in response.

(What could possibly go wrong? 1840s edition)

Alas, I have no idea how this romantic gesture worked out for him. (Oxford Chronicle 1841, via @_newspapers) pic.twitter.com/neklN6DmhH

— Undine (@HorribleSanity) March 3, 2019

(Tip of the cap to Sydney Padua.)

How to Woo a Scientist

Here is some published advice for how to woo a scientist.

Here is one excellent quote from the article: Scientists are also typically stood alone in a social environment, looking quite fearful. It's OK to approach them, but do so slowly and calmly, and if possible hold your hands out, palms open and facing upwards, to emphasise that you pose no threat.

And here is another one: If you do manage to strike up an initial dialogue with a scientist, it's important to keep things going. Should the conversation falter or hit a lull, try asking the question "How is your grant application going?"

(Tip of the cap to Alex Cayco-Gajic.)

Are tensors more romantic than cows?

I link, you decide.

(Hey, I almost went a full week without a blog entry! I haven't checked, but I think it's been a pretty long time since I had a gap that long.)

Tales from the arXiv: Romance edition

\\
arXiv:0911.0013
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:32:25 GMT (2544kb,D)

Title: Stochastic Nonlinear Dynamics of Interpersonal and Romantic
Relationships
Authors: Alhaji Cherif, Kamal Barley
Categories: physics.soc-ph nlin.AO physics.pop-ph
\\
Current theories from biosocial (e.g.: the role of neurotransmitters in behavioral features), ecological (e.g.: cultural, political, and institutional conditions), and interpersonal (e.g.: attachment) perspectives have grounded interpersonal and romantic relationships in normative social experiences. However, these theories have not been developed to the point of providing a solid theoretical understanding of the dynamics present in interpersonal and romantic relationships, and integrative theories are still lacking. In this paper, mathematical models are use to investigate the dynamics of interpersonal and romantic relationships, which are examined via ordinary and stochastic differential equations, in order to provide insight into the behaviors of love. The analysis starts with a deterministic model and progresses to nonlinear stochastic models capturing the stochastic rates and factors (e.g.: ecological factors, such as historical, cultural and community conditions) that affect proximal experiences and shape the patterns of relationship. Numerical examples are given to illustrate various dynamics of interpersonal and romantic behaviors (with emphasis placed on sustained oscillations, and transitions between locally stable equilibria) that are observable in stochastic models (closely related to real interpersonal dynamics), but absent in deterministic
models.

\\ ( http://arxiv.org/abs/0911.0013 , 2544kb)



Comment: All I have to say is that the 3-body problem is known to be chaotic.

Taking the word "cougar" to the next level

According to this CNN report, a 107-year-old woman fears that her 37-year-old husband (who is apparently her 22nd husband!) doesn't love her anymore and will leave her.

According to an online slang dictionary, cougar is "the word used for a middle aged woman who hits on twenty-something men at university pubs". Well, I think it's used more generally than that; I wanted to check the urban dictionary site, but Somerville blocks that one. I do think that it typically refers to middle-aged women who go after younger men (though I initially thought it referred to men who went after much older women), so I guess we might have to come up with another word for this situation. Unfortunately, I don't currently have any suggestions.

So if this woman netted her first husband at age 19, that's about one new husband every 4 years. Raar! (How does one actually spell that?)