Peer Review Fail

Well, this incident sure is a beauty.

To quote a line the supplementary information of this paper, Emma, please insert NMR data here! where are they? and for this compound, just make up an elemental analysis.... (And also an ethics fail.) Way to proofread! This is an instant classic. (By the way, there is already an update.)

(Tip of cap to Katie Siek.)

Update (8/10/13): Petter Holme has pointed me to this link, which updates the story further. The Editor in Chief is handling the aftermath very well, in my opinion. Of course, things shouldn't ever have gotten to this point, but the situation is what it is.

And So the Axe Falls...

The suspensions from the Biogenesis scandal have now been announced. A-Rod has been suspended for the rest of the 2013 season and all of the 2014 season (though he will appeal), and 12 other players received 50-game suspensions. I don't particularly like to blog about PEDs and I tend to avoid it, and I hope that this is finally the beginning of the end of this long-running era in Baseball's history. At the very minimum, it's good to know that consensus player opinion is now massively against such things, and that is a great improvement over what used to be the case.

New 'Board Game Cafe' in Oxford!

I walked a few minutes away from home to get some food, and it turns out that a 'board game cafe' called Thirsty Meeples just opened up last week. It's only about a 7-minute walk from home and right near one of my coffee places! (Though I managed not to notice it the past several days when I went to get coffee...) Sweet!!

On a similar note, I am going to a board-game group meetup today. The group is called 'Oxford on Board'. I found out about this from my postdocs right before my trip to Korea, and I really ought to have found out about this group before (considering that it has existing for a few years). Tonight is the first time that I am going to one of their events. Better late than never, I suppose.

Anyway, it looks like my board-game options have expanded a decent amount, so I'm very much looking forward to more gaming! Of course, there is still the issue of my lack of time when term is in session (and lots of travelling when it isn't --- and, often, I suppose even when it is), but it's really great to see my board-game options expanding. More gaming for me!!

Back to the Future

It's good to know that we have a few spare blank 3.5 inch 'floppy' disks under lock and key in our filing cabinet (in Dartington House) in case we ever need them.

The Noogie Heard 'Round the World

Today is the 20th anniversary of The Noogie Heard 'Round the World.

(Tip of the cap to Buster Olney.)

Claim: Big Data Often Seems to Entail Small Thinking

My new reviled term is 'big-data approach'. This term makes me want to cry. The term 'big data' bothers me somewhat, but the term 'big-data approach' bothers me a lot. It's not a fucking approach to anything! It has nothing whatsoever to do with an approach or a way to actually solve a problem, dammit! Indeed, as far as I can tell, many people seem to try to sell their product (i.e., their research) with big data instead of with good science or big thinking. Sigh...

As an alternative, I advocate a 'big-thinking approach' (whether or not the data is big or small). I want people to stop equating big data with good science (or even with good data).

Unfortunately, I think this battle is lost.

"Welcome" Back

I haven't even been back in this country for 3 full hours yet, and already multiple people have been really unkind to me. Now I already want to leave.

People were so nice to me while I was in Korea (e.g. on several occasions, random people helping me of their own accord without my asking when I was in the metro and looking confused), and here I am dragging a heavy suitcase home --- it needs to be replaced, as the additional damage is too much for it --- and having a lot of trouble with it and some bitch sticks her head out of a car window just so she can laugh at me. Welcome back, I guess.

Anticipated Matchup

Vin Scully, a few minutes: "Sunday's game, in case you happen to be in Seoul, will be on the air at 10 am."

Thanks, Vin!

I probably ought to figure out where this game is going to be broadcast in public. This is the game that has the long-anticipated matchup between Hyun Jin Ryu and Shin Soo Choo.

Unexpected Ass-Kicking (Food Spiciness Department)

Today at lunch I finally got my ass kicked by spicy food. Because I am in Korea, I've been ultra careful about this, and I did well until today.

One of the cool things is that Korea has several US chains that the UK doesn't have, and this gives me the chance to have some favorites (like ice blended drinks at Coffee Bean and ice cream at Baskin Robins) that I don't normally get the chance to have. (I still haven't gotten any smoothies from the one Jamba Juice I saw, and I hope to do that at some point too.)

I noticed a couple of days ago that there is a Popeye's on the Seoil National University campus, which is where my conference is located. I really like Popeye's fried chicken, and we don't have Popeye's in the UK, and today was my chance to go there. And, of all things, it was the spiciness of Popeye's fried chicken that completely kicked my ass. Apparently, they lace the chicken with some stuff here that makes it much spicier than usual, and I was completely unprepared. Ouch!

#caughtoffguard

The Birth of Emoticons?

Here is the most commonly accepted explanation for the origin of the first emoticon. :) (It occurs to me, by the way, that an emoticon really ought to be a special type of Decepticon.)

(Tip of the cap to whoever posts things on Facebook for Physics Today.)

Pictures From Korea: 2013 Edition

I have now posted my first batch of pictures from this trip to Korea. And if Gangnam Style was ever going to break out at any physics conference, then surely it had to be this one!

Best. Name. Ever.

Sicnarf Loopstok. 'Nuff said. (Eat your hearts out, Razor Shines and Stubby Clapp!)

What Happens in Seoul Stays in Seoul

I am at the airport and in an hour I will be boarding my flight to Seoul for a big conference on statistical physics. I am then going to stay for about another week, so in total I'll be spending 11 days in Seoul so that I can explore it a bit. I'm stoked about this trip! During there, I will be staying in a hotel in Gangnam (and I am now listening to a certain song in preparation). And, of course, I am planning to go to a baseball game while I am there!

Let's Vote on the Baby's Gender!

CNN.com, you're doing it wrong!

"Sharing the Beauty of Networks"

University of Oxford has just released its promotional video about my lab's outreach efforts to teach school students about networks! Pass it on. :)

Dinosaur Chrome

Check out this chrome skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex that was installed by the Seine River in Paris. Absolutely gorgeous!

(Tip of the cap to I Fucking Love Science.)

The Length of Doctoral Dissertations

One person compiled some statistics about the mean length of doctoral dissertations in various fields.

Just to give some context, let me point out the following: Version 1 of my PhD thesis was over 400 pages. Version 2 was about 178 pages. (Also, Version 2 was much better than Version 1.)

And, to better appreciate this length (which I would prefer to call "volume"), take a look at where mathematics lands on the chart at the other end of the link.

(Tip of the cap to Ernie Barreto.)

XKCDifying Plots in MATLAB

In case you were wondering (and I know you were), there is a script to "xkcdify" plots in MATLAB. Enjoy!

(Tip of the cap to Sang Hoon Lee.)

Slacker

Best. Demotivational Poster. Ever.

OK, it's not actually the best one ever, but it is pretty damn good! This is for all of my friends who have children. I encourage all of you to make your own version of this picture.

Frozen Snickers

I often froze Snickers as a child.

Snickers are much better frozen than consumed any other way. Plus, they get exceptionally hard when they are frozen. (I think that freezing Snickers bars was probably also my first true introduction to elastic moduli.)

Fun Fact: Frozen Snickers also make excellent ammunition to discourage people from applying shaving cream or toilet paper to one's front yard. (As a child, I always kept a stash around Halloween in case I needed them. Then I ate them on the days that followed.)

By the way, the reason I thought about this is that I put my Dutch waffles in the fridge to cool them down because it's been hot and humid here lately. The caramel was hardening in a way that reminded me a bit of frozen Snickers, though it wasn't as extreme today because I put them in the refrigerator rather than the freezer.

P.S. Get off my lawn!

Coffeehouses: The Social Media of the 1600s

Here is a very interesting article about coffeehouses and how, upon their arrival, they were analogs of modern social media.

(Tip of the cap to Predrag Cvitanovic.)

Density Tower

This home-brew experiment looks awesome! And I mean that literally: click on the link and take a look at what it looks like.

(Tip of the cap to I Fucking Love Science.)

"Noise-Induced Synchronization, Desynchronization, and Clustering in Globally Coupled Nonidentical Oscillators"

One of my papers came out in final form today. Here are the details.

Title: Noise-Induced Synchronization, Desynchronization, and Clustering in Globally Coupled Nonidentical Oscillators

Authors: Yi Ming Lai and Mason A. Porter


Abstract: We study ensembles of globally coupled, nonidentical phase oscillators subject to correlated noise, and we identify several important factors that cause noise and coupling to synchronize or desynchronize a system. By introducing noise in various ways, we find an estimate for the onset of synchrony of a system in terms of the coupling strength, noise strength, and width of the frequency distribution of its natural oscillations. We also demonstrate that noise alone can be sufficient to synchronize nonidentical oscillators. However, this synchrony depends on the first Fourier mode of a phase sensitivity function, through which we introduce common noise into the system. We show that higher Fourier modes can cause desynchronization due to clustering effects, and that this can reinforce clustering caused by different forms of coupling. Finally, we discuss the effects of noise on an ensemble in which antiferromagnetic coupling causes oscillators to form two clusters in the absence of noise.

Spirograph for MATLAB

Wow. This Spirograph GUI for MATLAB brings back some memories from my childhood. According to the Wikipedia entry, it is still in production. And of course I am sure that you are all shocked --- shocked, I say! --- that I liked drawing with this toy when I was a child.

(Tip of the cap to whoever posts for MATLAB on Facebook.)

Health Insurance and 'Grilled Cheese Happiness'

And, sometimes, two advertisements are placed near each other in such a way that it completely messes up the parsing.

This is how an advertisement pertaining to health insurance (Blue Shield) gets associated with 'grilled cheese happiness'. Yeah, it's all happiness until you have a coronary... (More money for the insurance company!)

"New Prius Helps Environment by Killing its Owner"

Really, it is only a matter of time before this car becomes available. (I kid Prius owners because I love them. Residents of the Research Triangle, beware!)

(And for those of you who did not realize this, every single resident of the Research Triangle --- including children --- drives a Prius. It is a legal requirement --- kind of like the law that dictates that all indie movies must include Philip Seymour Hoffman.)

"The Pointer Sisters" in an Alternate Universe

It just occurred to me that "The Pointer Sisters" would be an awesome name for a team in a programming contest!

We Call It "Tenure"

As far as I can tell, "tenure" is the academic version of sainthood.

They have miracles; we have publications. Same difference.

(OK, so they have to deal with a pretty tough journal!)

Tales From the ArXiv: "The BS Model"

I have decided that naming a model after yourself is slightly forgivable if your initials and author order mean that it will called "the BS model", which is what happened in this paper. :)

"Literacy" Test

The test that is discussed in this article is one of the "literary" tests that was used by Louisiana to disenfranchise black voters in the 1960s. Apparently, one is supposed to get 100% of these questions correct in 10 minutes, and many of them are worded in ridiculously convoluted manners (and I am pretty sure that a couple of them are technically --- one might say "literally" --- impossible if one takes the phrasing literally). Ouch!

(Tip of the cap to Andrew Waugh.)

Ballparks and Iconography

Rob Neyer has written an interesting and thoughtful article on the display of iconography (in a couple of different contexts) at ballparks.

My own feelings on the subject are both strong and mixed. Right now, I mainly want to point to the above article as something that I think is worth reading.

"Bitchy Resting Face"

The video embedded into this article about the 'medical condition' now unofficially known as "Bitchy Resting Face" is hilarious.

And, as some of you know, my murder eyes come out very prominently when I am thinking deeply. :)

(Tip of the cap to Andrew Waugh.)

Sunlight in Britain

I have the sudden urge to measure the amount of sunlight in this country based on how long it has taken the covers of my books to fade as a function of where they are on my office shelf. (Neither my windows nor my blinds have ever worked particularly well.)

Bo Knows...

I am very happy that Rob Neyer linked to this "Bo Knows" commercial in this article. This commercial is one of the greatest --- and perhaps the greatest --- commercial in one of the greatest ad campaigns of all time.

"Access Denied"

Apparently, the Mathematical Institute has updated its 'Access Denied' web page.

However, I am unable to tell the difference between the new version of the page and the old version. :) Maybe the font got changed?

(I think I set the picture above for public viewing. Let me know if I messed that up.)

"You come in here with a skull full of mush... and you leave thinking like a [Mathematician]."

We need to make a parody of the trailer for the movie The Paper Chase in time to show it to the new freshers in mathematics who will be joining us in the fall.

(There is also the matter of having a Scavenger Hunt. Some of you from Beverly Hills High School who are familiar with a certain chemistry teacher might find this vaguely familiar.)

And one of these years I will finally watch this movie. I have been meaning to do so for a long time.

"Well, This is Awkward."

Fun Fact: When somebody in Oxford starts a point that he/she wants to make with "Well, this is awkward.", you can tell that all Hell is going to break loose. Seriously: Wow.

Going Batty

And, sometimes, you just want to listen to the Batman theme produced by actual bats. Come on: click on the link. You know you want to!

Fractions and Percentages

Alright, this really irks me: When your quantity or label is clearly a fraction, don't bloody call the thing a "percentage". So many people make this mistake. There is a multiplicative factor of 100 that specifically makes these objects different, and this is taught explicitly from an early age. Grrr....

Update: As it turns out, the example that reminded me of this particular one of my pet peeves turned out to correctly be a percentage. Go figure. Anyway, I am obviously fallible. (This is a common mistake, though, and it's annoying.)

The Pace of "Modern" Life

The new xkcd is wonderful. Check out the years in which the blurbs contained therein were written.

(And, of course, I had to tweet about this just for irony.)

How to Annoy Experts in Machine Learning

Fun fact: If you want to annoy a machine-learning expert, refer to what he/she studies as "data mining". Most of them hate that, and their reactions to it are often pretty damn funny. :P

How to Solve a Physics Problem

Here is Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal's recipe for how to solve a physics problem. This is so, so true. (It applies to mathematics problems, too. I know this feeling very well --- and so do my students.)

New Somerville Graduates in Mathematics (and Allied Fields)!

Congratulations to Somerville's 2013 graduates in Mathematics (and our allied fields: M&S, M&CS, and CS)!!!

To steal some words from Sandra Tsing Loh: "So by the time [they] graduated, [they] had [an Oxford] diploma entirely made of. . . partial credit, yes-- [Their] degree was glued together, faintly pulsing with. . . radioactivity, graded less on a curve than on a kind of wild hyperbola asymptotically approaching. . . some imaginary. . . actual answer. . ."

And as I told our freshers in today's tutorials in time-honored advice from teacher to student, "Partial credit is your friend."

"Bottledump Roundabout"

On the way home yesterday from the Woolly Owl competition with Cambridge applied math, we passed by "Bottledump Roundabout". Sometimes I love the Brits...

Chocolate Oscillations and the Square-Plate Approximation

At dinner, I was estimating the wavenumber of the chocolate oscillations on my dessert plate.

The next step is to estimate the amount of chocolate as a function of wavenumber and to figure out the accuracy of the square-plate approximation.

"No Boundary Rd"

Near JFK Airport, I saw a sign for "No Boundary Rd".

I assume that compact cars are not allowed on it.

And my reaction upon seeing this sign was to think that "No Boundary" was a strange name for a road rather than to think that "No" meant "North". Math makes the world fun!

Quote of the Day (or Maybe Year?): Genius Edition

Today's quote comes from Aldous Huxley: The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.

I wholeheartedly approve! I never saw this quote before, but I couldn't agree with it more. I live my life by this quote. (And this is why the reason to do research on something is because you think it's interesting --- who cares if it's useful, "hot", etc.)

And the reference to Trivial Pursuit (and the common nomenclature misconception) is on purpose. :)

(Tip of the cap to I Fucking Love Science.)

Visualization of Bike-Sharing Data

Here are some bike-share 'maps' (i.e., visualizations) for several cities. These are cool, and the data is something that would be cool to use as a follow-up to this paper.

(Tip of the cap to Puck Rombach.)

Box Score of the Day

Today's game between the Marlins and Mets was pretty awesome. Check out the box score.

The game last 20 innings and the Mets went 0 for 19 with runners in scoring position. But what you should particularly note are the pitching lines. Both teams had two pitchers that went starting-pitcher distance, as the Marlins had a reliever go 7 innings and the Mets had a reliever go 8 innings. Wow!

What Happens in (NY)^2 Stays in (NY)^2

Today I am flying to New York City --- aka, (NY)^2 --- and will be there for the first time since July 2011. I am traveling there because one of my cousins is getting married.

Update: When I was in line to drop my bags, the security person was pretty thorough. I needed to show him my card that lets me live in the UK, he checked my passport for several minutes, etc.

He asked me if I had any weapons, and of course I said know. He then asked me if I had anything that could be used as a weapon, so I explained that my laptop could be used to bash someone over the head but that I didn't want to do that because it's my computer. Maybe this wasn't the best answer to give?

He also said I shouldn't take accept any items from anybody, so hopefully getting a certain karate trophy from Aaron won't be an issue.

Sprinkles Revisited!

OK, not really. But here are some cool heat maps that show how Americans in different parts of the country use different terms from each other. Examples like "soda" versus "pop" are there, but "sprinkles" versus "jimmies" is strangely missing.

P.S. The correct word is "sprinkles"!

(Tip of the cap to Jaideep Singh.)

Texting and Driving

Don't text while driving! Text "SAFETY" to the number listed on the billboard to find out why. :)

What Happens in Copenhagen Stays in Copenhagen (2013 Edition)

This morning, I will be flying to Copenhagen to give a plenary talk at NetSci 2013 and also in an associated satellite meeting on Temporal and Dynamic Networks. On the morning of the last day of NetSci, I'll be flying off to New York City for a cousin's wedding.

+3 Vorpal Red Pen

My weapon of choice is a +3 Vorpal Red Pen (+5 against power laws).

It was forged in the hellfire pits of Caltech, frozen in Cornell, thawed in Georgia Tech, and refined in Caltech, and Oxford.

Teachers Get the Last Laugh

Damn straight.

I have pulled my share of things too, of course. For example, I need to go dig old my exam instructions that allow the use of 'a note from your mother' and the question about mystery meat with Poisson-distributed things in it. (One of the students actually submitted a note from her mother. It include threats against both Lloydies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. There was also a comment about the potential health problems caused by generating functions.)

(Tip of the cap to Sammy Kline --- and, of course, to Katie Noyes Rogstad and her mother.)

Do They Get Their Kicks Above the Waistline (Sunshine)?

Apparently, male chess players make riskier opening moves when they are playing attractive female players.

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

"Dynamic Network Centrality Summarizes Learning in the Human Brain"

Another of my papers is now out in final form (with a volume, issue number, page numbers, and everything). This article appears in the first issue of Journal of Complex Networks (of which I am an associate editor), so of course the volume number and the issue number are both 1. Naturally, that was still left as a placeholder when the journal posted the article online before the official assignment of that information. :) Additionally, this paper has the largest number of authors of any of my papers.

Anyway, here are the details.

Title: Dynamic Network Centrality Summarizes Learning in the Human Brain


Authors: Alexander V. Mantzaris, Danielle S. Bassett, Nicholas F. Wymbs, Ernesto Estrada, Mason A. Porter, Peter J. Mucha, Scott T. Grafton, and Desmond J. Higham


Abstract: We study functional activity in the human brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging and recently developed tools from network science. The data arise from the performance of a simple behavioural motor learning task. Unsupervised clustering of subjects with respect to similarity of net- work activity measured over 3 days of practice produces significant evidence of ‘learning’, in the sense that subjects typically move between clusters (of subjects whose dynamics are similar) as time progresses. However, the high dimensionality and time-dependent nature of the data makes it difficult to explain which brain regions are driving this distinction. Using network centrality measures that respect the arrow of time, we express the data in an extremely compact form that characterizes the aggregate activity of each brain region in each experiment using a single coefficient, while reproducing information about learning that was discovered using the full data set. This compact summary allows key brain regions contributing to centrality to be visualized and interpreted. We thereby provide a proof of principle for the use of recently proposed dynamic centrality measures on temporal network data in neuroscience.

The Puzzle Museum

There is apparently a Puzzle Museum in Devon, England. I want to go!

Symmetry Fail

Apparently, putting two contacts in one eye and none in the other is not as effective as putting one contact in each eye.

(Man, I need sleep...)

Flipping the Test

A very cool test was given in a Behavioral Ecology class at UCLA. It sounds like it was a great learning experience for the students, and of course this story makes me think of a certain exam I once took in Philosophy of Probability. In both situations, the lessons from the course itself played center stage in the exam-taking strategy.

(Tip of the cap to Jasvir Grewal.)

What Happens in Snowbird Stays in Snowbird (2013 Edition)

Tomorrow, I am heading off to Snowbird once again for the SIAM Conference on Applications of Dynamical Systems. The regulars call this the "Snowbird Conference". Since my first Snowbird conference in 1999, the only one I have missed is the one in 2005. This is my home conference.

"This is the first serious modeling application in the field of love dynamics."

That is the first highlight listed for this paper, which is called A mathematical model of "Gone with the Wind".

(Tip of the cap to Jesús Cuevas Maraver.)

Children + Taxes Implies Chaos

Yes, really. And this new paper (which is called Child Allowances, Fertility, and Chaotic Dynamics) claims to prove this in a model using rigorous mathematics. Obviously, this depends on how much one believes the model. The paper is written in a rather abstract manner, so clearly I am skeptical.

There are some "awesome" things in the article, however. For one thing, I am not sure how chaotic dynamics is important to the problem at hand (as opposed to just in the model the authors happen to study), but chaos is genuinely important in other applications, so who knows? Another big "win" is the use of the term "allowance". What the authors have in mind is the number of children that one is allowed to have, but the other (unintended) interpretation of parents giving a child an "allowance" with which to buy things is what truly makes this a thing of beauty. I didn't look carefully enough at the mathematics itself, so I have no opinion on that. Rather, I am viewing this through my mathematical modelling lens, and I think it is "awesome" from that perspective. And the article title is truly a thing of beauty!

This is the type of article that makes me both laugh and cry --- and I think that there might be an Ig Nobel Prize in store for the authors of this paper.

Iron Lady 3D

In the print version of Daily Info at a local cafe, I noticed the following fantastic caveat below the cinema listing for Iron Man 3: "Not a follow-up to The Iron Lady."

(I need to go there with my camera tomorrow so that I can get a picture of this. Sadly, the online versions of this document don't seem to include this warning --- or at least I was unable to find one that does. The current issue is 8407. I think the one I want is number 8406.)

Livin' on Sweet Dreams

Sometimes, a TV skit becomes awesome. This video is excellent, and it put a smile on my face (as promised by the blog entry to which I am linking). It is awesome.

(Tip of the cap to DJ Patil.)

The Zachary Karate Club Club (or Award, if you prefer)

Aric Hagberg, Cosma Shalizi, and Aaron Clauset have just created the Zachary Karate Club Club (or Award, if you prefer). Membership in this exclusive Club is awarded to "the first scientist at any conference on networks who uses Zachary's karate club".

Here is Aaron Clauset's tweet announcing the inception of the Club. The inaugural inductee was Cris Moore, who is currently in possession of the coveted trophy representing his induction. (Naturally, karate is depicted on this trophy.) This trophy --- and perhaps other, similar, ones --- will be passed along at subsequent conferences and workshops on networks.

(Tip of the cap to Aaron for his e-mail letting me know about this.)

Me + OMD

I got to meet the members of the band OMD on Monday at the VIP part a few hours before their concert. I got them to sign the novel that I brought with me to read (as that is all that I had with me for them to sign).

(Hopefully you can see the other pictures. I have thus far failed to find a public link to the album that I posted on Facebook. For now, I am linking to the picture I took with the band.)

Big Data

I have ambiguous feelings about big data.

They're As Cold As Ice!

Actually, the surface of penguins' bodies are colder than the sub-zero temperatures of their surroundings!

By the way, the purpose of this blog entry is merely to correct a glaring deficiency in the article to which I link: namely, how on earth could its authors write this article without making an allusion to Foreigner?

(Tip of the cap to I Fucking Love Science.)

Anagram Tube Map

Here is a map of the London Underground (aka, the Tube) with an interesting twist: all of the stations are presented using anagrams of their actual names.

(Tip of the cap to Alan Champneys.)

Garden Well Hung

One of my Somerville College colleagues has done some really cool research about the Hanging Gardens. Mmmm... mysteries.

Geometric/Geometrical/Topological/Topologic

I am currently revising a paper in which I need to use both the terms topology and geometry in adjective form on many occasions (and as a contrast to each other).

This poses an interest expository conundrum: both "geometric" and geometrical" are correct adjectives for geometry, although the former is a good deal more common in mathematics than the latter. Nevertheless, both are correct, and you can find both used in the Wikipedia entry on geometry to which I linked above. However, I have never seen the word "topologic" used (as "topological" seems to be used all of the time), though at least one online dictionary claims that it is technically correct.

The expository issue is that it is rather awkward to use "topological" yet "geometric", so the best solution appears to be to use the term "geometrical", even though it is less standard and seems a bit less nice when considered on its own. (Part of the issue is that certain things, like "geometric series", appear to almost always use the other form of the word.)

I have decided that I would like to get to the bottom of this --- because I find this interesting --- so I decided to e-mail my colleague Peter Neumann, who has a keen interest in the history of mathematics and who I judged most likely among all of my Mathematical Institute colleagues to know the history behind how the adjective forms of geometry and topology developed in different ways. (One possibility that has crossed my mind was because of the "ology" ending in "topology" but not the other, but I have not tried to check whether that difference is worth pursuing to try to figure out what's going on.)

Peter responded as follows: What a very interesting question. French has just the one form topologique, g\'eom\'etrique, arithm\'etique, alg\'ebrique. Similarly, German has just one form topologisch, geometrisch, arithmetisch, algebraisch.

Yes, in English, most of these words used adjectivally have two forms. I think that topological is the only one to have just one. All the others can be geometric or geometrical, arithmetic or arithmetical, algebraic or algebraical (though this last is very uncommon now). I suspect that the -al forms may have been created in the 19th Century by people like Cayley, Sylvester, Hamilton, but that is a pure guess. I'll copy this to Alan Hughes of the Oxford English Dictionary. He may well know.

We do use geometrical, I think, in phrases like `geometrical drawing', geometrical argument', `geometrical proof'. But the geometric mean could not possibly be the geometrical mean, could it?


So that is where we now stand. Peter has cc'ed a person from the Oxford English Dictionary, who I hope will be able to shed some further light on the subject. (If Alan doesn't know or can't point out someone else to ask, I will try to figure out which of my humanities colleagues might be a good person to ask. Surely somebody at Oxford can help me get to the bottom of this?)


Update (5/07/13): I have now heard from Alan Hughes from the Oxford English Dictionary. His response was very illuminating:

Topologic does occur, but much less frequently than topological: in Google Books, 31k against 2.6m; in the Oxford English Corpus, 8 vs 1400; say three orders of magnitude difference.

Geometric and geometrical seem to be the oldest English words to have the endings -metric and -metrical (geometrical is 14th c., geometric is 16th c.). The revised (OED3) entry for -metrical says "Where matching formations in -metric and -metrical exist, there is a tendency for the formation in -metrical to be earlier." Geometric mean occurs from 1701, but we have no OED entry for geometrical mean, supporting Peter's comment below [map: above].

Words in -ology generally > adjectives in -logical; but American English often uses -logic for scientific words, e.g. hematologic instead of haematological, geologic instead of geological. This may account for modern occurrences of topologic (in OED1 the word is attested with quotations of 1872 and 1903, but neither is to do with maths). The ending is later in English formations. OED3 notes at -ology "From the late 18th cent. onwards the element is freely used with first elements of classical origin to form the names of branches of study." Perhaps the lateness of -ology means there is less variability (between -ic and -ical) than is the case with words in -metric(al).

There is sometimes a semantic difference between -ic and -ical: a historical novel (about subjects in history) but a historic feat (it will go down in history). The OED3 entry for algebraical (1571-, earlier than algebraic, 1653-) says "Originally: = algebraic adj. 1. In later use chiefly: characteristic or reminiscent of algebra."

My view is that you need have no qualms at all about using geometric and topological in the same context, If one departs from what is usual usage, a reader is apt to be distracted by the language away from the meaning intended.


So there you have it. A dude from the OED has spoken, and it turns out that my speculation that the difference might pertain to the ending 'ology' has some basis in truth.

I hope that you have enjoyed this grammatical excursion into the history of mathematics. Or maybe this has actually been a grammatic excursion. :)

Mathstitute

As Jaideep Singh points out, "mathstitute" is the correct term for a "math slut".

2013 Mathematical Art Exhibition

You can view some awesome pictures at the 2013 Mathematical Art Exhibition.

Quote of the Day: Those Pesky Experimentalists

Today's quote comes from Nobel Laureate Robert Laughlin: Experimentalists are dangerous because they go and measure stuff."

"A Boy And His Atom"

"A Boy and His Atom", the world's smallest movie, is seriously awesome!

(Tip of the cap to quite a few sources.)

Fermat in the Modern Era

A few minutes ago, I pulled the Facebook version of Fermat in commenting on a status update: "My comment is long and there isn't enough space to put it here."

(Technically, I did put a bit of a pointer to where people could find my commentary, but I like the fact that I started with the above line.)

Dodger Style

Tommy Lasorda appears to be extremely confused by PSY's shenanigans. This is pretty damn funny, actually.

Just don't ask Tommy to give his opinion of PSY's performance.

(Tip of the cap to whoever does Facebook posts for Major League Baseball.)

The 'Curious' Case of Diederik Stapels

Here is an article about Diederik Stapels and his academic fraud. This case is extreme, but of course --- and sadly --- more subtle frauds are rampant throughout science.

The article is long, but in my opinion it is required reading if you're a scientist.

Advanced Lego Devices

This article details (and shows videos of) several advanced lego devices. Very cool! (To be honest, I just looked at the still pictures, but I am sure the videos are cool too.)

(Tip of the cap to Jeff Mach.)

What Your Coffee Says About You

Here is a nice webpage with mini cartoons describing what your coffee says about you. This has me pegged right on the money.

(Tip of the cap to Combibo's Coffee.)

Modelling Human Butts

The Improbable Research Blog has highlighted an abstract on modelling of human buttocks. This was presented last December at the 7th Australasian Congress on Applied Mechanics, and surely this is a very important topic in mechanics. And if you look at the first reference in the bibliography, you'll notice that it is my Dong et al. :)

"Oscillate Wildly"

I just found out (and listened to) the song "Oscillate Wildly" by The Smiths. The title alone makes this awesome. It's actually a rather good instrumental, but the scientific things that the title automatically brings to mind is what makes this awesome.

The Shared Office Printer

Yup, this is pretty much exactly how shared office printers work. PhD Comics has nailed this one right on the head.

(Tip of the cap to Sang Hoon Lee.)

RIP Chrissy Amphlett (1959-2013)

Chrissy Amphlett, the lead singer of The Divinyls, died yesterday

To this day, whenever I hear the song "I Touch Myself", I still feel like I should be abruptly ending whatever conversation I am having so that I can go somewhere to talk smack about people.

(Tip of the cap to whoever does the Facebook posts for They Might Be Giants.)

Epic Baserunning

As Rob Neyer writes, Jean Segura had some epic baserunning misadventures on Friday night. I guess you can steal first base. (Well, former Pirate manager Lloyd McClendon already knew that.)

Ideas >> People >> Drinks

I am going to bring up this 'issue' of SMBC the next time --- it will be soon, I am sure --- that people discuss something like wine at Somerville's High Table.

This one isn't funny per se, but it's dead-on accurate.

Mathematically Correct Bagel

Andrew Elliott sent me George Hart's description of how to cut a bagel in a manner that is mathematically correct.

Tales From the ArXiv: For the Dogs

This new paper on the arXiv is for the dogs. In particular, it discusses how dogs forage in an urban environment. I wonder if an Ig Nobel is in the authors' future?

Violent Origins of the Crackpot Session at the APS March Meeting

Wow. The 'crackpot session' at the American Physical Society apparently started in the afternoon of a shooting by an enraged physicist whose abstract was rejected. See this BBC article for a discussion about this.

Those wacky physicists!

(Tip of the cap to whoever does Facebook posts for Physics Today.)

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.)

Story: The Rabbit's Dissertation

Today I am going to tell you the story of The Rabbit's Dissertation, which was told to me tonight by political scientist Zeev Maoz.

A rabbit was busy typing up its dissertation when a fox came by to ask it about its thesis topic. The rabbit answered that it was typing a dissertation about "How Rabbits Eat Foxes". The fox---a very skeptical canine---said that surely that the rabbit was wrong and had gotten things in reverse. Surely foxes eat rabbits and not the other way around.

So the rabbit said that it would take the fox over to its cage and the fox should wait there so that the rabbit could come back that night and demonstrate that its dissertation was correct.

A wolf came by later, and the same thing occurred. Then a bear came by and the rabbit took the bear over to its home cage, and then the rabbit locked the door on all three and went away.

The rabbit worked on its dissertation some more and came back the next morning. It opened the door, and it walked through the bones of the fox and the bones of the wolf and the bones of the bear. In the back of the cage was a lion.

Moral: It doesn't matter what your dissertation topic is, but it matters a great deal who your thesis advisor is!

(I had never heard this one before, but Zeev gave me permission to steal it. I don't think the way I told the story did his telling justice. Best. Story. Ever.)

What Happens in Davis Stays in Davis (Again)

I am once again heading to UC Davis to give a seminar. I am giving a Computer Science seminar about cascades and social influence on networks.

Update: A bum who has parked next to the train tracks is blasting Creedence. Now I am having a genuine small-town train experience. (Well, the radio station to which he is listening is doing that. It still works, though.)

"Well Understood"

Excuse my cynicism, but it seems the the term "well understood" (and its inverse) is usually used for convenience rather than for any meaningful reason, and many things seem to simultaneously be both "well understood" and "not well understood".

Example: Referee 3: This is well understood, so the authors shouldn't have bothered writing this paper.

Welcome to the 19th Century

Our admin staff are not allowed to e-mail me a PDF file for me to assess a senior project ("dissertation") because University of Oxford doesn't considered that to be secure. This gives the option of either waiting for my return or snail-mailing me the dissertation. My evaluation is due not long after I return, and I am not going to deal with this during the first week of term when I am severely jetlagged, exhausted, stressed, and almost certainly in an awful mood. That simply doesn't help anybody and is physically extremely taxing for me. (The physical difficulty I have with traveling comes into play.)

So, given my restricted luggage space on my return, the agreed solution was to snail-mail me a USB stick with the PDF file (which I think only takes up something like a couple of megs) so that it could be sent to me in a 'secure' way. (Don't ask.) Nothing arrived for 2 weeks, so I queried our staff and was informed that "We had to order some USB sticks through the department and they've still not arrived." I suppose that is the only way to obtain such advanced technology? Thus, it looks like I will get the extra time to do the marking upon my return when the hard copies can be passed to me 'securely'. I can't wait to see what happens when the Oxford proctors discover Dropbox.

And in other news, Oxford academics are also expected to keep all of their savings in cash under their beds, because that is the only secure way to do it. (Thanks to Alain Goriely for this comparison. He's exactly right.)

As Craig Montuori suggested, we should have had the USB stick delivered to me via carrier pigeon. That's the traditional way of copying electronic files, after all.

Tales from the ArXiv: Blunt Honesty Department

And in the latest entry from the Department of Blunt Honesty, this paper was with withdrawn from the arXiv by the author, who provided this explanation in the 'Comments' field:

Comments: This paper has been withdrawn by the author due to the terrible English writing"

I give major props for that kind of honesty. Also, I'm amused.

Programmed To Go Off Before You Do

An old woman on the bus was having a lively conversation with her stuffed badger. Then she also started kissing it. Thankfully, she, her stuffed badger, and her other stuffed animal (who witnessed the whole scene) got off the bus before things got even more serious.

("That was my Virgin Alarm! It's programmed to go off before you do!")

Unearthed: A Report I Wrote on the KdV Equation During College

Oh, wow. From some 'random' googling, I just found the rough draft of a report on the KdV equation that I wrote my senior year in college. This apparently got uploaded when various past things from courses that Jerry Marsden taught were collected, scanned, and uploaded.

My exposition (including of the KdV equation!), my citation practices and being very thorough about giving proper credit for results and the exposition of others (right now, I think that my old report should have included specific statements of whose discussions I was following and not just citations to those papers), and my work on nonlinear waves has advanced a lot since that report -- though I think that one can see many hints of my current style in it. Certainly one can see some of my current research interests. I had completely forgotten about this old report. (My handwriting in parts of the report is almost exactly the same as now, though! :P)

If you want to compare my old exposition to my current exposition, see the Scholarpedia entry on solitons that I wrote with Norm Zabusky.

I should perhaps use this as before/after to show my students for certain assignments. I think this could be helpful for some interesting teaching opportunities.

I'm not sure why the rough draft was uploaded, though. Maybe Jerry's copy of the final draft got lost?

April Fools Day Roundup (2013)

Here is TechCrunch's 2013 April Fools Day roundup.

Math Lab Bust!

Recently, five people were arrested in a math lab bust. I guess I better be very careful from now on! (I am guilty as charged.)

(Tip of the cap to I Fucking Love Science. This might actually be my favorite IFLS post ever, and that's saying a lot.)

Update: As Puck Rombach pointed out, maybe the news program actually misspelled "MATLAB BUST".