We Studied Network Structure, and Then the Murders Began

This article on The Daily Dot suggests adding the phrase "and then the murders began" to the first sentence of the book that one is reading. This can change the tone of the book in very amusing ways.

As a twist on this, I decided to look at the first sentence of the preface of one of my books. This yields the following sentence: "Traditionally, much of the study of networks has focused on structural features, and then the murders began."

Unfortunately, the tense of the sentence hurts things, so I am going to change one letter ("s" to "d" in the word "has") to produce the following sentence: "Traditionally, much of the study of networks had focused on structural features, and then the murders began."

Much better! (And highly amusing.)

(Tip of the cap to Keith Fraser.)

"Best-Tasting Colors"

I don't completely agree with the new XKCD, but there is some truth here.

I would move "cherry" way over to the right.

I did recently have an experience with eating a pink Starburst and expecting strawberry but getting watermelon instead. It was unpleasant.

Even more unpleasant are past experiences of eating red with the hope that it's cherry but then getting cinnamon instead.

Yuck.

Happy Pi Day!

Today is, of course, Pi Day. And I love how the Colorado Rockies celebrated it today!

(Tip of the cap to Jeremy Stell.)

Update (3/19/17): I forgot to mention that I found out a few days ago that there was some Photoshopping in the above picture. It's still very cool, though not quite as cool as before.

Sonyalytic Acquired by Spotify

OK, but what does that have to do with me?

Well, Martin Gould is CEO of Sonalytic, which was just acquired by Spotify! Very well done!

"Artistic Expressions of Math Over Seven Centuries"

My favorite picture in this article (in Hyperallergic) by Allison Meier is "Garden of Mathematical Sciences". So sweet!

This article, which has lots of great pictures of mathematical art, is a review of the exhibit Picturing Math at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

(Tip of the cap to James Tanton.)

What Happens in Houston Stays in Houston

Today I am flying out to Houston to give the mathematics colloquium tomorrow at University of Houston, Downtown.

Reminder: You Should be Reading the @RoguePOTUSStaff Twitter Feed

Just as a reminder, you should definitely be reading the @RoguePOTUSStaff Twitter feed, which appears to be legit. It is also hilarious and gives fascinating insights as to what is going on in The White House days. For example, consider the following gem from today:

Spicer: "I wish he'd have an affair. That'd be better than defending the stupid s*** he says in Twitter."

— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) March 8, 2017

Wow. Amazing.

Here is an older blog entry about the rogue government Twitter accounts.

'E' is for Erdmann

Entry 'E' in the A-to-Z series on women mathematicians in the Life Through a Mathematician's Eyes tumblr is my Somerville College colleague Karin Erdmann.

It should say "specializes" (present tense), by the way, as Karin is still research-active, even though she's retired. In fact, no doubt, she is now more active in her research, as that is how it often works.

As I write this, the tumblr has gotten up to 'M' so far, and there are many great mathematicians profiled (including, thankfully, people besides the same ones that often show up over and over again in such lists).

(Tip of the cap to Association for Women in Mathematics.)

The World in Miniature

The World in Miniature is an amazing collection of art that puts a really nice perspective on ordinary real-world object. So cool!

(Tip of the cap to Yves van Gennip.)

Putin's Daughters and Oxford Commas

This tweet gives me a convenient opportunity to remind you of the importance of Oxford commas. I like the alternative interpretation, though!

6/ When @LouiseMensch reported on the FISA tap, she included details that implicated Putin's own daughters, Carter Page and Paul Manafort. pic.twitter.com/TgeO9x1NvC

— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) March 4, 2017

A Hierarchy of Types of Disagreement

I really like this pyramidal visualization of types of disagreement!

Grahams Hierarchy of Disagreement is like a Bloom's Taxonomy of Calling Bullshit.https://t.co/9ZpZ8bsxBD pic.twitter.com/xZIe75Bnub

— Calling Bullshit (@callin_bull) March 4, 2017

Grilling a Lawmaker About his Degrees

Once again, truth is stranger than fiction. Check out this story.

After proposing party affiliation quotas for faculty, lawmaker grilled about business degree from Sizzler Steakhouse https://t.co/9ycYTISAm1

— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 3, 2017

In his tweet, Carl Bergstrom links to a Boing Boing article, but the article to which it links gives a clearer explanation.

It's not quite as surreal as a National Park Service Twitter account going rogue (initially by simply tweeting basic facts about climate science), but it's still odd.

RIP Eugene Garfield (1925–2017)

Eugene Garfield, one of the founders of bibliometrics and scientometrics, died a few days ago.

Garfield contributed a lot to the study of scientific productivity and output, and for better or for worse (often for worse), he gave us the impact factor (which of course has led to many variants).

Science has no Borders

As demonstrated at my undergraduate alma mater Caltech today, science has no borders.

"Numerical Methods for the Computation of the Confluent and Gauss Hypergeometric Functions"

My paper on computation of confluent and Gauss hypergeometric functions, from a project that started in Spring 2009, finally is not only out in a journal but now even has coordinates (volume, page numbers, etc.) Here are the details.

Title: Numerical Methods for the Computation of the Confluent and Gauss Hypergeometric Functions

Authors: John W. Pearson, Sheehan Olver, and Mason A. Porter

Abstract: The two most commonly used hypergeometric functions are the confluent hypergeometric function and the Gauss hypergeometric function. We review the available techniques for accurate, fast, and reliable computation of these two hypergeometric functions in different parameter and variable regimes. Themethods that we investigate include Taylor and asymptotic series computations, Gauss–Jacobi quadrature, numerical solution of differential equations, recurrence relations, and others. We discuss the results of numerical experiments used to determine the best methods, in practice, for each parameter and variable regime considered. We provide "roadmaps" with our recommendation for which methods should be used in each situation.

Our Matlab code is available from this website.

A Putz Hitting a Mench with a Pitch (and Another Baseball Naming Oddity)

One of my all-time favorite baseball box scores is for a game in which a Mench* was hit by a pitch thrown by a Putz. Naturally.

* It's too bad that Kevin Mench's last name isn't spelled "Mensch". (And here is a definition page for the Yiddish word putz.)

But my favorite baseball name-combination game is the following: In (at least) one game in 1998 (I think quite a few), the Cincinnati Reds had an outfield of Young, Frank, and Stynes.

(The players were Dimitri Young, Mike Frank, and Chris Stynes.)

There are other good ones as well (e.g., the Giant hardware, with a battery of pitcher (Bud) Black and catcher (Steve) Decker).

"The Mechanical Universe" Videos Now on YouTube

The videos of The Mechanical Universe are now on YouTube. This gives me flashbacks to my Physics 1a with David Goodstein at Caltech. (My physics teacher in high school showed us many of these videos, and then I had an odd sense of deja vu when I had Goodstein as a lecturer in the fall term of my frosh year at Caltech.)

(Tip of the cap to Guillermo Valle Pérez.)

Excerpts of an Interview with Steve Strogatz about Math

Here are some excerpts of an interview with Steve Strogatz about what mathematics is, teaching math, learning math, and more.

There's some really good stuff in here!

RIP Ken Arrow (1921–2017)

Ken Arrow, who was the youngest recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, has died

Like many Nobel-memorial laureates in economics, Arrow has an undergraduate degree in mathematics (in his case, as part of a double major with social science). He also earned a Masters degree in mathematics. Arrow has an entry in the Mathematics Genealogy Project.

Some of my students have heard me mention "impossibility theorems" in voting and social choices. If you're going to name one pioneer in that area, that person is Ken Arrow.

(Tip of the cap to Jennifer Nicoll Victor.)

A Mandelbrot Pancake

This article about a very special instance of "Fatou's Day" includes a picture of a Mandelbrot Pancake.

A Mandelbrot Pancake is not quite as cool as a Sierpinski Hamentaschen, but it's still rather awesome.

An Emotional Outlet

I love this picture!

My Slides on Data Ethics for Mathematicians (and Others)

I have made some slides on data ethics for mathematicians (and others). I'll be presenting them later this term to my graduate course in network science.

My slides on "Data Ethics for Mathematicians" (n the era of Big Data) #appliedmathematics #bigdata https://t.co/JBqOcMyf6f via @SlideShare

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) February 19, 2017

Maps of Imaginary Places

Take a look at the fantastic maps of imaginary places in this blog entry by Maria Popova.

A Table of Perverse Incentives in Academia

I can't argue with this table.

It would also be relevant to include a line for "tenure", because that too has a very good intended effect (time to work on impactful blue-skies research without undo pressure and harmful immediacy) and unfortunate side effects (e.g., slacking, dead weight, insufficient accountability on certain things).

Here's the horrifying key table from the paper Siddhartha Roy co-authored on perverse incentives in academia. #AAASmtg pic.twitter.com/sdrUlPmXs7

— Mike 48% Tⓐylor (@MikeTaylor) February 18, 2017

Update: There are some worthwhile comments in my associated Facebook post.

The Making of Ms. Pac-Man

This is a really cool article about the making of Ms. Pac-Man.

"Macrae: The fourth monster in Ms. Pac-Man is named Sue, which is my sister. I always get to joke about that with her a little bit. I worked really hard to make sure I could name a monster after my sister. It was a great way to take an inside poke at her."

I was always wondering how the orange ghost went from Clyde in Pac-Man to Sue in Ms. Pac-Man.

Amazingly, it's now been just over twice as long between the Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga dual arcade cabinet and now than between the debut of Ms. Pac-Man and that commemorative release.

And as some of you have witnessed, I had mad skillz at that game.

The Best Thesis Defense is a Good Thesis Offense

Here's an excellent thesis-defense flyer.

Coolest thesis defense flyer EVER! pic.twitter.com/pXEV8SLOZK

— Montserrat Anguera (@montserrat) February 15, 2017

(Tip of the cap to Easter Eggs in Scientific Papers.)

A Musician Called "Dedekind Cut"

I was looking through LA Weekly, and I did a double-take when I saw that some musical artist known as "Dedekind Cut" is performing soon in LA.

I hope the music is rational.

The new EP, by the way, is called "The Expanding Domain" (for real).

In case you're interested, here is a link to the Wikipedia entry for the mathematical version of a Dedekind cut.

"The White House": A New Film by The Coen Brothers

Many years from now, some kids who don't know history are going to express skepticism that "It couldn't have happened like that. That's way too ridiculous and unrealistic!"

And I'm going to respond by telling them to get off my lawn.

(I look forward to the Coen Brothers version. Because we are in a Coen Brothers movie right now. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion from a seat on the train.)

Also: Truth is stranger than fiction. Never doubt that.

Update: By the way, Frances McDormand would make a spectacular Bettsy DeVos.

Update: Last year, I referred to the Brexit fiasco as something out of a Coen Brothers film (and I included the train-wreck comparison), but the way things have been playing out in the US (including last year, but especially since the election) is, hands down, even more extreme in that direction.

New App: "Make Trump Tweets Eight Again"

This app is funny. It's admittedly somewhat rude, but it's also merited.

We made a browser extension that converts Trump’s Tweets into their rightful state: a child’s scribble. Download: https://t.co/pgL64CCJ00 pic.twitter.com/XQ30Fz6m9H

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) February 15, 2017

(Tip of the cap to Alain Barrat.)

Imperial Tie Fighters in Chemistry Publications

Yes, really. I am amused. :)

Nomenclature for a Few London Tube Stations

This very interesting article has some really cool stuff about the origin of the names of a few stations in the London Underground ("The Tube") transportation system.

"Mesoscale Analyses of Fungal Networks as an Approach for Quantifying Phenotypic Traits"

Another of my papers just came out in final form, and in fact it appears consecutively with another of my papers. It too has been available for quite a while in the journal, but we finally have our coordinates (page numbers, etc.).

Along with this paper, we have released a large data set of fungal networks. We hope that you enjoy playing with the data!

Here are some more details.

Title: "Mesoscale Analyses of Fungal Networks as an Approach for Quantifying Phenotypic Traits"

Authors: Sang Hoon Lee, Mark D. Fricker, and Mason A. Porter

Abstract: We investigate the application of mesoscopic response functions (MRFs) to characterize a large set of networks of fungi and slime moulds grown under a wide variety of different experimental treatments, including inter-species competition and attack by fungivores. We construct 'structural networks' by estimating cord conductances (which yield edge weights) from the experimental data, and we construct 'functional networks' by calculating edge weights based on how much nutrient traffic is predicted to occur along each edge. Both types of networks have the same topology, and we compute MRFs for both families of networks to illustrate two different ways of constructing taxonomies to group the networks into clusters of related fungi and slime moulds. Although both network taxonomies generate intuitively sensible groupings of networks across species, treatments and laboratories, we find that clustering using the functional-network measure appears to give groups with lower intra-group variation in species or treatments. We argue that MRFs provide a useful quantitative analysis of network behaviour that can (1) help summarize an expanding set of increasingly complex biological networks and (2) help extract information that captures subtle changes in intra- and inter-specific phenotypic traits that are integral to a mechanistic understanding of fungal behaviour and ecology. As an accompaniment to our paper, we also make a large data set of fungal networks available in the public domain.

"Time-Dependent Community Structure in Legislation Cosponsorship Networks in the Congress of the Republic of Peru"

One of my papers just came out in final form. (Also, you can download our data.) It has been available for quite a while in the journal, but we finally have our coordinates (page numbers, etc.). Here are the details.

Title: "Time-Dependent Community Structure in Legislation Cosponsorship Networks in the Congress of the Republic of Peru"

Authors: Sang Hoon Lee, José Manuel Magallanes, and Mason A. Porter

Abstract: We study community structure in time-dependent legislation cosponsorship networks in the Peruvian Congress, and we compare them briefly to legislation cosponsorship networks in the US Senate. To study these legislatures, we employ a multilayer representation of temporal networks in which legislators in each layer are connected to each other with a weight that is based on how many bills they cosponsor. We then use multilayer modularity maximization to detect communities in these networks. From our computations, we are able to capture power shifts in the Peruvian Congress during 2006–2011. For example, we observe the emergence of 'opportunists', who switch from one community to another, as well as cohesive legislative communities whose initial component legislators never change communities. Interestingly, many of the opportunists belong to the group that won the majority in Congress.

The Most Lucrative Food Crop in Each State

The most lucrative food crop in each US state
-
Source: The Huffington Post pic.twitter.com/AuO92nr5bU

— Amazing Maps (@Amazing_Maps) February 13, 2017

Note to self: I need to have pecans the next time I go to Santa Fe Institute.
Also: It pleases me that "maple syrup" is the item in Vermont, it's fitting that California is still "grapes", and I had no idea about shrooms in Pennsylvania.

Fake Gnus

I am spreading fake gnus.

(This had to be done.)

I also created this selection of fake gnus, though of course with images drawn from various sources online.

Published Version of "88 Lines About 44 Mathematicians"

In 2009, I wrote a parody of the song 88 Lines About 44 Women that was much more mathematically oriented. A version of this song has now been published in Journal of Humanistic Mathematics. The version that I submitted to the journal is slightly censored. I think I only changed one word, which one will often see when comparing the album version of a song to versions that receive radio airplay.

Here are some article details.

Title: 88 Lines About 44 Mathematicians

Author: Mason A. Porter

Abstract: Well, there isn't really an abstract per se.



Note: In 2014, somebody else recorded a song by the same name on YouTube, although the lyrics are entirely different. Also, that guy focused much more on mainstream mathematicians than I did.

"Dynamics of a Human Spiral Wave"

The authors tried to get us to make a human spiral wave at the 2015 Snowbird meeting on applied dynamical systems. Unfortunately, despite (because of?) our expertise in nonlinear systems, we failed.

Tales from the ArXiv: A "Topological Middle Class"

This new arXiv paper, by Dani Bassett and company, has a lovely turn of phrase, a "topological middle class", which twist on the classical term rich-club phenomenon. Previously, in this paper, my collaborators and I introduced the term "poor-club phenomenon" via a similar play on words.

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.)

"Make Regression Great Again"

The new comic strip by PhD Comics is timely.

We can talk later about maximum likelihood estimation.

P.S. I stole the title from Won Chang's comment on the Facebook post by PhD Comics.

"America First" Spoofs

These spoofs are brilliant.

More are apparently in the works.

Update: In addition to the ones compiled on the webpage above, I have seen one for Kazakhstan (which I saw via suggested YouTube videos from one of the ones above). I'll post a link to a page that has a comprehensive compilation once I find one.

Update (2/07/17): Here is a compilation of parodies from European Union countries. Right now, there are many grayed-out flags for ones that don't yet exist, but I'm sure many of them will be filled in eventually.

Update (2/09/17): Yesterday I noticed that the above compilation site has expanded to include countries across the globe. However, it doesn't include the one from Mars. :)

Civ VI: Conducting Holy Wars for Fun and Profit

In Civ VI, if certain apostles die in holy battle, a relic is created.

But how can there not be an Achievement Unlocked for the way I did it? I took over a different Civ's apostle, following a different religion from mine, and then I got it killed by attacking a third Civ's apostle (from yet another religion).

Well, at least I get to keep the relic and earn some tourism points.

Dove: Trolling with "Alternative Facts" Ad

This is both hilarious and fantastic. Way to go, Dove!

Also, it's particular style reminds me a bit of Hunter Pence Signs.

(Tip of the cap to George Takei.)

Tales from the ArXiv: Participants Viewing a Random Walk

My collaborator Dani Bassett has gotten a bit meta about community structure.

Here is a choice quote from their abstract: "How human learners exploit this information remains an essential question. Here, we focus on the temporal constraints that govern such a process. Participants viewed a continuous sequence of images generated by three distinct walks on a modular network."

This is a missed opportunity: They could have used the Zachary Karate Club for these experiments. (It's probably still worth writing up a short blurb about this paper for the Improbable Research blog.)

A UCLA Math Undergrad's Data-Analysis Blog

UCLA undergraduate student Ritvik Kharkar, who is doing some research with me, is doing some spiffy data analysis on his blog. Go take a look at it!

It includes entries about community detection (in the Harry Potter universe), education issues, and UCLA salaries.

RIP Masaya Nakamura (1925–2017)

Masaya Nakamura, the founder of gaming company Namco and the "father" of Pac-Man, has died.

(Tip of the cap to Greg Hosack.)

I Am Vindicated!

I am vindicated!

My dark sense of humor has been a positive sign from the beginning! ;)

Marty Feldman Performing Tom Lehrer!

Oh, wow! Marty Feldman performed some songs by Tom Lehrer! Here's a video of The Vatican Rag, and apparently the same show included other Feldman performances of Lehrer songs. (Maybe those are online too?) I didn't know this existed!

And if you've never heard of Marty Feldman, you should watch Young Frankenstein, among other movies.

(Tip of the cap to Kent Cordray.)

Update: Here is a video of Feldman performing National Brotherhood Week.

Rogue Government Twitter Accounts

The tweets in the Rogue POTUS Staff Twitter account are very interesting. (At minimum, it is very entertaining, though in the 2017 world of "fake news", one also has to be cautious about whether accounts like these are real ones.) Also take a look at this list of accounts (including several Resistance accounts). And it all started with a National Park Service Twitter account going rogue.

As I mentioned a few days ago on Facebook, "National Park Service Twitter Account Goes Rogue" would make a great event card for the 2K16–2K17 version of Illuminati. (I don't know of any plans for one, but given that the world feels now that way, it simply has to happen.) The dystopian fiction novels and movies also seem to have missed out on that. Well, some probably do have something like that, but truth is definitely stranger than fiction. The Rogue POTUS Staff account is also right out of dystopian fiction (except that now it's dystopian fact, or "dystopian nonfiction", if you prefer).

Indeed, like now feels like an Illuminati, with some aspects of Paranoia involved for good measure.

Update: Here is one version of a meme that has been going around during the last few days.

What Happens in East Lansing Stays in East Lansing

I have arrived in East Lansing, where tomorrow I will be giving the Science at the Edge seminar at Michigan State University.

I am being hosted by my Caltech undergrad friend Jaideep Taggert Singh (a fellow Lloydie), who is on the physics faculty at MSU.

"I Have Not Even Begun To Snark"

Yup, that's right.

A Cookie Undergoing Mitosis

This is a rare shot of a cookie undergoing mitosis in the wild.

Physics 11: A Special Caltech Class

I never applied to take Physics 11 at Caltech, though surely I would have loved it. It's certainly a course that I would love to teach, and I like to think that a lot of my research projects and our networks journal club (and study groups with industry and related things that we do) have a lot of this flavor. I certainly want them to.

Here is the lead in Caltech's Facebook post today about the course: "Among the classes a Caltech freshman can take, Physics 11 stands out. Those who make it through its series of intellectual hoops embark on a unique classroom experience with no set curriculum or exams and without strict adherence to any single scientific discipline—despite the course's name."

SMBC: "That's What She Said"

This comic is amusing. (That's what she said.)

A Stiff Fine

This stiff fine will likely be paid by your next of kin. :)

(Tip of the cap to Iain Macmillan.)

PhD Comics and the Youngest-Non-Math-Major Convention

Here is a classic set of panels from PhD Comics.

This is why at Caltech we had the "youngest non-math-major" convention for figuring out how to split a bill for a meal.

As an applied math (AMa) major, I was usually safe — except for the one time when everybody else at my table was majoring in pure mathematics (Ma). D'oh!

"The Netherlands Welcomes Trump in his Own Words"

This video is hilarious.

(Tip of the cap to multiple people.)

Update (1/24/17): Apparently the video isn't just taking lots of words and phrasing The King in Orange likes to use but was parodying his inauguration speech in particular. (I hadn't bothered watching or reading his speech, so I didn't realize that. That makes the video even funnier.)

Congratulations to Dr. Charlie Marshak!

Congratulations to my UCLA Ph.D. student, Charlie Marshak, for successfully passing his thesis defense on Friday the 13th and for making the final changes and submitting his thesis (Applications of Network Science to Criminal Networks, University Education, and Ecology), which we then approved.

I became one of Charlie's supervisors last fall to help out his main official supervisor Andrea Bertozzi. Of course, although she doesn't get official credit for it (because she's a postdoc and isn't in the official listing), Puck Rombach has been Charlie's main supervisor in practice.

Victory for The Onion: Kellyanne Conway Edition

I think The Onion's new article about Kellyanne Conway explains a lot. This article is exceptional (and highly amusing)! Once again, I declare victory for The Onion. It's really funny, and the article title gives you a good idea of where this is going: "You Would Do The Same Thing If An Old Witch Had Your Father’s Soul Trapped In A Lantern"

The following line expands on the title: "But answer me truthfully: Who among you wouldn’t do the same exact thing if an evil 400-year-old witch had trapped your father’s eternal soul inside a cursed iron lantern, flickering faintly each time his agonized moans escaped the murky, otherworldly ether that is his prison?"

"How Irish Falconry Changed Language"

This very cool article describes a transition of several words "from medieval falconry to modern English" (with William Shakespeare as intermediary and interpreter).

Deadpan Reaction to Unhinged Presidency

In it's article about the outlandish statements by the White House's Press Secretary about the size of the Inauguration crowd, CNN.com has unleashed some beautiful deadpan: "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period," Spicer said, contradicting all available data."

The article title is also great: White House press secretary attacks media for accurately reporting inauguration crowds.

(When I see a story about such ridiculous, flagrant lies (which anybody can see from all available data, including videos, transportation data, and more) posted on Facebook, I need Facebook to add a nuanced 'reaction' that modifies their laughter icon into the type of hysterical laughter that occurs as one is losing one's mind. Their reactions aren't nuanced enough for this. Sure, I'm angry, but I want a 'hysterical laughter' reaction.)

Update (1/24/17): And Spicer's feud against Dippin' Dots ice cream is simply bizarre (and free advertising).

Pictures of Hope

Pictures like the still at the beginning of the video in this article give me hope (which is much needed these days).

Update: Here is a Vox article, which includes among the first of the pictures I saw yesterday. I also saw pictures from friends yesterday who were beginning their treks, and of course it's been great to see many pictures of the well-attended Women's Marches today (especially the one in Washington, D.C.).

Update: Here are a bunch of pictures. When the dust settles as to the numbers in the Marches worldwide, I'll post put a link to an article that hopefully gives a reasonable indication of them. I have read that this may be the largest Presidential Inauguration protest in U.S. history. (Many more people have shown up to the Women's March protest in Washington, D. C. than showed up for the Inauguration.)

Update: The protests have been occurring across the globe, including in Antarctica!

Update: The number of protesters worldwide is estimated to be more than 2.5 million people.

Update: Here are more pictures from around the world. Such a historic event! The world will remember this day.

Update: Here are some estimated numbers.

Update: I would like to make the following comment: "20 January 2017: A day that will live in infamy (though, technically, not as much infamy as 8 November 2016). 21 January 2017: A far more important day, and one of the most important days in United States history."

Update: The Women's March protest is now estimated to be the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Excellent! I approve!

Update: In solidarity with the Women's March, Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics posted a music video of their song Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves. It's hard to think of a better fit for today.

Update: In Washington, D.C., numerous protesters left their signs at Donald Trump's D.C. hotel.

Update: Apparently, there were a grand total of four arrests in the U.S. Protesting peacefully is the way to do it. Very good!

(Tip of the cap to way too many people to mention.)

Update (1/22/17): One of my favorite pictures from yesterday is this one.

Update (1/22/17): Here is yet another great sign. (Tip of the cap to Wendy Ames.)

Update (1/23/17): Fivethirtyeight.com estimates the total number of participants (I didn't check whether this was an estimate for the U.S. or for the world) in the Women's Marches to be about 3.2 million people, though they were concentrated mostly in Blue states.

Update (1/23/17): Here is another excellent sign, although over the years I have seen many pictures of old people at protests with these words (or similar ones) on a sign. I saw this picture on Saturday, but I forgot to include a link then, so I'm glad to see it again.

Update (1/23/17): Here's another nice sign.

Update (1/24/17): Here are a few more signs. I like the Star Wars one.

A Song for Today

It's now every day that I get to invoke The Fun Boy Three, but today is one of them. Here is a song for the day.

I also considered others, but they're considerably more rude (and this one is also an optimal fit). These are "Springtime for Hitler" from The Producers and a cover of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" by Mike Pence and the Supreme Court Justices. (This last song was probably performed last time at the Inaugural concert.)

Update: REM posted several performances of their song "World Leader Pretend on their Facebook page.

Update: Another appropriate song is "The Dictator Decides" by the Pet Shop Boys. The general weariness and the lines about giving speeches are both rather apt.

Update (1/21/17): A really apt one is the "Imperial March" from Star Wars.

Update (1/22/17): I think that my suggested song for Mike Pence and The Supreme Court Justices would make a great skit for Saturday Night Live, by the way. Also, it now occurs to me that a cover of "Love Child" (also by Diana Ross and The Supremes) would be an even more appropriate song than "You Can't Hurry Love".

52,560,000 Minutes Late

This contrasts with the advertised tardiness, which was a mere 40 minutes.

Note: I did a quick calculation, in which I assumed 100 full years; this gives an estimate of 52,596,000 minutes. The article didn't indicate even the month in which the book was checked out. In my calculation, I took 100 years, 365.25 days per year, 24 hours per day, and 60 minutes per hour.

Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Iván Rodríguez are in the Hall of Fame!

Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Iván ("Pudge") Rodríguez are heading to Cooperstown!!!!

Rodríguez made it (with 4 votes more than the minimum) on the first ballot, becoming the second catcher (the other was Johnny Bench) to do so. It's about damn time that Bagwell and, especially, Raines made it into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. They both should have been inducted years ago. Trevor Hoffmann (5 votes short) and Vladimir Guerrero (15 votes short) both cracked 70% of the vote (at least 75% is needed) and should make it next year. Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds made good progress and finally seem on their way. (If not for their extracurricular issues, they would have of course been inner-circle Hall of Famers and made it with exceptionally large vote percentages on the first ballot.) Mike Mussina gained enough votes to crack 50% of the vote and should gain more next year and hopefully make it soon. Edgar Martínez gained a very large number of votes, and he (along with Mike Mussina) are who we now need to get behind so that they get their richly deserved enshrinements into the Hall. Curt Schilling's vote total went in the wrong direction, seemingly because of his controversial tweets, but he richly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, so hopefully he'll eventually make it as well.

Larry Walker, in his 7th year on the ballot, surpassed 20% of the vote and made some progress, but it looks like he's going to have to wait until some version of the Veterans Committee selects him for the Hall. In my mind, Walker is a Hall of Famer, and a lot of people don't realize just how good he is. Manny Ramírez, who comes with a particularly enormous performance-enhancing-drug (PED) cloud (with two suspensions to his name), cracked 20% of the vote. Voters are clearly softening on this front, as was expected and as I believe is correct, but a rather large difference between Ramírez and players like Bonds and Clemens is that the cloud is much darker for Ramírez, so it will probably take him a long time to get elected. (I suspect he will make it eventually, perhaps from a Veterans Committee.) His statistics on their own obviously merit induction, but Ramírez's relationship with PEDs is very far beyond the border. Jeff Kent, who also belongs in the Hall, continues to get much less support than he deserves. (Fellow middle infielders Bobby Grich, Lou Whitaker, and Alan Trammell can commiserate. Whitaker even fell off the ballot, which is ridiculous.)

Former commissioner Bud Selig and executive John Schuerholz were elected to the Hall of Fame earlier this offseason by a Veterans Committee.

You can find more information on the Hall of Fame tracker.

Baseball-reference.com has a page detailing who will (and others will likely) appear on the 2018 Hall of Fame ballot. Hoffman and Guerrero will surely make it next year. I don't think any of the other holdovers will make it next year, but watch for Martínez, Mussina, Clemens, and Bonds to make further progress. Among the newcomers, Chipper Jones will make it easily, Jim Thome will get a lot of votes (but is unlikely to make it in his first year), Scott Rolen will probably get a lot less support than he deserves (though he may be inducted into the Hall of Fame eventually), Omar Vizquel will get a bunch of votes, and perhaps Johnny Damon and Andruw Jones will get enough votes not to get kicked off the ballot. I suspect Thome will make it in his second or third try, and Vizquel will likely make the Hall eventually as well.

Update (1/19/17): I completely forgot to bring up The Crime Dog, Fred McGriff, whose consistent excellence gets overlooked because of the ridiculous numbers from the PED era. It makes it harder to see how great he was, and I think that he should eventually be enshrined as well. He is getting enough votes to stay on the ballot, but his candidacy isn't really going anyway, so he'll probably eventually be selected by a Veterans Committee. Gary Sheffield is another player with enough support to remain on the ballot but who won't make the Hall any time soon. I am not sure whether he should make it.

Adventures With Old Caltech Catalogs

The 1974–1975 Caltech catalog was the first one to include the unit requirements for all* options in "modern" form (where "modern" means that's how it was when we arrived as frosh).

And in that catalog, Applied Math and Math required 483 units, and each of the other options required 516 units. (So then at some point that 516 was changed to 486. So Applied Math and Math were the pioneers!)

In prior years, each option (perhaps with some commonality due to influence of Divisions) essentially listed the requirements in their own format (occasionally including the modern format). Some of them listed required unit numbers (e.g., 530), but they were different for different options. Applied Math in 1973–74 required 537 units, but Math didn't list any one number in this format (though one could compute a minimum based on other types of requirements, such core courses, electives, and units per term). So somehow for 74–75, Applied Math and Math decided to be different from everybody else (naturally).

* except for the "Independent Studies Program", which is understandably much less structured in the catalog

Note: See this discussion for further background.

Note 2: I majored in Applied Math at Caltech. I graduated in 1998, and I first enrolled there during the 1994–95 school year.

This was really bugging me. Now I'll get back to what I was supposed to be doing.

Is Reality a Group Project?

Well, is it?

You Are Now Entering the Twilight Zone: Trumped-Up Edition

And, once again, Scotland proves that it's awesome.

(The Scots are also very good at flinging insults.)

New Course Proposal (University of Washington): "Calling Bullshit"

Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin West from University of Washington have developed an important and interesting course called Calling Bullshit. It isn't yet part of a course catalog, but they have assembled a great selection of reading, and hopefully it will be an "official" offering soon.

As they write: "We're sick of it. It's time to do something, and as educators, one constructive thing we know how to do is to teach people. So, the aim of this course is to help students navigate the bullshit-rich modern environment by identifying bullshit, seeing through it, and combatting it with effective analysis and argument."

(Tip of the cap to the Bansal lab.)

Update: I have updated this blog entry (adding and slightly changing some text above) to make it clear that the course isn't literally being offered yet, but its material has been assembled, so go take a look at it!

Update (1/14/17): I wrote a blurb about this course for the Improbable Research blog.

An Alternative Explanation

You never know.

Encounter at the Gates of Hell

Sweating from the profuse heat, at the gates of Hell, you encounter a devil, dressed in a lounge suit and singing "Baby It's Cold Outside."

(I would humbly suggest requesting "I Won't Back Down".)

Headline: "God Banned By Facebook For Wanting Healthcare and Education"

I am highly amused by this article, and especially by this online conversation. That is hilarious!

(Tip of the cap to George Takei.)

Proof that England has Sun

"A Predator–2 Prey Fast–Slow Dynamical System for Rapid Predator Evolution"

One of my papers has now been posted in final form. (A second one appeared online today, but it joins a long list of papers that are still awaiting their coordinates. I will blog about those papers when they have those coordinates.)

Anyway, let's talk about the paper that does have its coordinates. It's about plankton modeling, and here are the details.

Title: A Predator–2 Prey Fast–Slow Dynamical System for Rapid Predator Evolution

Authors: So a H. Piltz, Frits Veerman, Philip K. Maini, and Mason A. Porter

Abstract: We consider adaptive change of diet of a predator population that switches its feeding between two prey populations. We develop a novel 1 fast–3 slow dynamical system to describe the dynamics of the three populations amidst continuous but rapid evolution of the predator's diet choice. The two extremes at which the predator's diet is composed solely of one prey correspond to two branches of the three-branch critical manifold of the fast–slow system. By calculating the points at which there is a fast transition between these two feeding choices (i.e., branches of the critical manifold), we prove that the system has a two-parameter family of periodic orbits for su ciently large separation of the time scales between the evolutionary and ecological dynamics. Using numerical simulations, we show that these periodic orbits exist, and that their phase di erence and oscillation patterns persist, when ecological and evolutionary interactions occur on comparable time scales. Our model also exhibits periodic orbits that agree qualitatively with oscillation patterns observed in experimental studies of
the coupling between rapid evolution and ecological interactions.

Treants Love Baseball

I really like the new SMBC!

Maybe I was a treant in a past life? :) (Or "ent", if you prefer earlier terminology.)

"Mathematics for Human Flourishing"

I just read Francis Su's address from the 2017 Joint Mathematics Meetings as the conclusion of his tenure as Mathematical Association of America (MAA) president. This is an important read for those of us teaching mathematics at universities (and for many others).

(Tip of the cap to Susan Holmes.)

"I'm From the Physics Department, and I'm Here to Help"

I am amused. :)

The 10 scariest words in the social sciences: "I'm from the physics department and I'm here to help."

— Simon DeDeo (@SimonDeDeo) January 7, 2017

(Tip of the cap to Bruno Gonçalves.)

XKCD on Team Chatting and the Future of IRC

I approve!

Country Tourism Slogans: Bring on the Mockery

The tourism slogans of most countries merit mockery (and some really merit mockery). For example, under the circumstances, I think the US may seriously want to change its slogan (of which I was not previously aware) of "All within your reach"...

I think my "favorites" are ones like "Tourism for Everybody" (Algeria) — though perhaps this one isn't quite so bad before it's translated? — and ones that rely on pure geographical location, such as Portugal's "Europe's West Coast". Also, Spain deserves special mockery for including a hashtag, and Uzbekhistan just missed a chance to contact the estate of Robert Palmer for some serious endorsement opportunities.

Also, I am seriously into maps with such ripe opportunities for snark.

(Tip of the cap to George Takei.)

What Happens at Dynamics Daze Stays at Dynamics Daze (2017 Edition)

Today I am heading off to Silver Spring, Maryland for the Dynamics Daze 2017 conference!

The Demons of Dictionnaire Infernal

Wow, these classics are great demonic pictures! This is one of the original Monster Manuals. :)

You'll notice several familiar names from Dungeons & Dragons, Ultima V, etc.

(Tip of the cap to Jennifer Ouellette.)

The Surprising Population Counts of Cities: Reality Versus Psychology

The headline and tagline of this 538.com article are misleading, but the rankings are interesting. (Surprisingly, the article doesn't bring up metro and urban areas, as opposed to a city proper, which makes a big difference for an example like Miami, though this does not satisfactorily explain many of the examples.)

Would you have guessed that the city of Fresno has a higher population than New Orleans? (In this case, the order does get reversed if you measure metro area, but they are still very similar, so it's not like the whopping case of Miami.)

I remember being surprised a few years ago to find out that Boston is not in the US top 20 if you consider the city proper (based on the 2010 census). I remember querying this in a particular data set (here is the associated readme file, by the way) with street-map networks of the center of the top 20 most populous US cities (and similarly for other continents).

Note (partly so I remember this later): metro population and urban population are two different things.

"Women, Mathematics, and the Periodical Tradition in Britain: or a History of Women Rocking Math from the Beginning"

Jacqueline D. Wernimont has written a very cool blog post about The Ladies' Diary.

Here is a quote from her post that describes the publication venue:

"One way to look at it is as a chimeric text with the head of an almanac, the body of a literary-mathematical periodical, with commonplace wings and a tail of recipes. It is fantastic.

Without question, it is the first mathematical periodical in Britain and it was designed explicitly for women and was published as such for more than five generations."

Very cool!

(Tip of the cap to Rachel Levy.)

New SMBC: "Coffee and Theorems"

Check out this new SMBC about coffee and theorems. ;)

RIP Carrie Fisher (1956–2016)

It's gotten a bit ridiculous how many iconic people (especially 1980s icons and people who are way too young to go) who we've lost this year. (George Michael died just two days ago, for example, and the list was already long before that.) And now we add Carrie Fisher (best known as portraying Princess Leia in the Star Wars films) to the list. She died today after suffering a heart attack on a flight four days ago.

Last week, I arrange plans to (finally) see Rogue One today, and it feels very weird to be seeing it on the day that Princess Leia has died.

Update (12/28/16): And one day later, her mother (actress Debbie Reynolds) died of a stroke. Ugh.

Origin of the Word "Scientist" and Happy Birthday to Mary Somerville!

Mary Soverville was born on this day in 1780, and the word "scientist" (as opposed to "man of science") was coined initially for her. Also see the Facebook post by Physics Today.

(Tip of the hat to John Dudley for retweeting Maria Popova's article about the origin of the word "scientist".)

Update (1/16/17): In terms of the origin of the word "scientist", the claim above is not accurate. I sit corrected. (Tip of the cap to Thony Christie.)

Francis Crick and Old-School Snark

I love this!

Francis Crick sometimes handled unsolicited requests by ticking a box & replying with this funny postcard (Fig 3 in https://t.co/eTotS5Ek8d) pic.twitter.com/1CdSu06yXt

— Steven Strogatz (@stevenstrogatz) December 23, 2016

Honesty in Board-Game Boxes

Yup.

I don't agree with all of these, but they're damn funny—especially the one for Connect 4.

Rent, Don't Buy

Pitcher David Rollins is becoming quite the itinerant worker, as he was just claimed on waivers for the 4th time in just over a month. Here is a nice quote from the article to which I just linked:

"The Texas Rangers picked up the popular David Rollins, a left-handed reliever, on a $20,000 waiver claim for the second time in a month on Wednesday.

Rollins had been designated by assignment by Philadelphia, which acquired him on waivers from the Rangers on Dec. 2. Rollins has been claimed four times since Nov. 18, going from Seattle to the Chicago Cubs, to the Rangers, to Philadelphia and back to the Rangers."

I wonder what the record is for this kind of thing? In any case, Rollins clearly should rent rather than buy (and perhaps wait before even renting).

But at least he wasn't traded for himself.

(Tip of the cap to Buster Olney, though this is starting to look like more of a Jayson Stark kind of thing.)

Update (12/23/16): Rollins has now been claimed for a 5th time, this time by the Cubs. The saga continues.

The Mathematician Version of Happiness

The new SMBC, which concerns a way to humanely euthanize mathematicians, is spectacular. I also love the mouseover: "They die frustrated, which is the mathematician version of happiness."

"Why Do Most Office Chairs Have 5 Wheels?"

I have occasionally wondered about this question (with some recent inspiration after constructing such a chair that I bought at Ikea), and thankfully googling quickly picked up a good answer (and a nice physics problem to assign to undergraduates).

Moral of the Story: "Stay Away from Applied Mathematics"

Yeah, we're always getting into trouble. :)

What Happens in the Bay Area Stays in the Bay Area

I am heading to the Bay Area for a couple of days to visit friends (and also to talk to the peeps at a friend's company).

"The Solution is Trivial"

This SMBC Comics gets at the truth and a particularly obnoxious thing that most of us have seen in lectures at some point (perhaps at many points).

Also, I love the mouse-over: "Oh, woops, I meant to write 'The solution is trivial.'"

The Dodgers are Keeping Free Agents Hill, Jansen, and Turner!

Yay! The Dodgers have now resigned third baseman Justin Turner, so we're keeping all three of our major free agents. We recently resigned Kenley Jansen, and before that we resigned starting pitcher Rich Hill. Excellent!

There are also rumors that we will trade for second baseman Brian Dozier of the Twins. Let's see how things go.

Tales from the ArXiv: "Dreidel Fairness Study"

There's a new paper on the arXiv preprint server called Dreidel Fairness Study.

I am amused by the following line from the abstract: "Although an unfair dreidel does not necessarily make the game itself unfair, it is conjectured that hundreds of pounds of chocolate have been distributed during Chanukah under false pretenses."

Also, the abstract mentions a dreidel with the face of Santa Claus on it. I guess they're mixing metaphors?

P.S. Somewhere in my parents' home lie my massive collection of dreidels. I can do a spiffy job of spinning them both in the standard fashion and upside-down.

2017 SIAM Workshop on Network Science (13–14 July)

Along with Michelle Girvan, I am co-organizing the 2017 SIAM Workshop on Network Science.

It will take place in Pittsburgh, PA, USA on 13–14 July 2017, and it is co-located with the SIAM Annual Meeting.

Abstract submissions (due 27 February) are now open, and the deadline for early-career researchers to apply for travel support is 20 January. Invited speakers will be announced shortly.

I hope to see you there!

A Useful Blog Entry About Interviewing for Faculty Jobs

This blog entry is a useful resource for people interviewing for faculty jobs (or who have members or alums from their groups interviewing for such jobs).

It is written within a specific context, but it includes points that apply much more generally.

Some of the links therein also look potentially useful.

(Tip of the cap to Meghan Duffy.)

Bud Selig and John Schuerholz Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Bud Selig and John Schuerholz were elected to Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame by the "Today's Game" branch of the latest version of Baseball's Veterans Committee. Both men deserve this honor. John Schuerholz was named on all 16 ballots, and Selig was named on 15 ballots. Enshrinement required being named on at least 12 ballots. Lou Piniella was next with 7 votes, and nobody else received more than 4 votes.

Interpretations of Famous Songs with Simple Cartoons

Here are some interpretations of famous songs using simple cartoons. As advanced warning (and an understatement), some of them are slightly rude.