RIP Paul Steen (?? – 2020)

I received the sad news early today that Cornell Professor Paul Steen died on Friday.

I took a class on bifurcation theory from Paul, who was very supportive. My class project, in which I needed to use AUTO (an important aspect of the course), led to this publication.

Here is an excerpt from the Acknowledgements section:

Additionally, we express our gratitude toward Alan Champneys for several productive suggestions regarding the numerics, Alejandro Rodríguez-Luis for providing a preprint of his manuscript, and Paul Steen, whose guidance for this work as a project for ChE 753 (on which this paper is based) was particularly valuable.

RIP Lou Brock (1939–2020)

We've lost another one of the great ones: Hall-of-Famer Lou Brock died today at the age of 81. You can see his statistics at this web page.

(Tip of the cap to Gregg Schneider.)

Tales from the ArXiv: "Dandling" Ends in Networks

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

RIP Tom Seaver (1944–2020)

Baseball Hall-of-Famer and pitching legend Tom Seaver has died. You can marvel at his career statistics on this page.

(Tip of the cap to Gregg Schneider.)

UCLA's New Undergraduate Major in "Data Theory"

UCLA has a new undergraduate major in Data Theory. Here is its catalog entry.

The video blurb about @UCLA's new undergraduate major (which I helped design) in "Data Theory" went live a week and a half ago, and I managed not to notice until now.

Here it is: https://t.co/iIZVPxUCK8

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) September 1, 2020

Update: Also see some hyperlinks in my previous blog entry about our new major.

"Networks of Necessity: Preventing COVID-19 Among Disabled People and Their Caregivers"

We have a new white paper. Take a look at it. Eventually we'll also be posting an academic paper related to this project.

New white paper: "Networks of Necessity: Preventing COVID-19 Among Disabled People and Their Caregivers": ftp://ftp.math.ucla.edu/pub/camreport/cam20-33.pdf

by Michael R. Lindstrom, MAP, Hannah Shoenhard, Sarah Trick, Thomas Valles, Joseph M. Zinski

Please read and circulate. pic.twitter.com/z33lSFx8dE

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) August 25, 2020

Ice Cream: Essential Ingredients for Marking Exams

On a somewhat related note, I have been known to consume ice cream when marking exams and assigning grades because it puts me in a better mood. https://t.co/adQcI2mamD

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) August 22, 2020

August Madness

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

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

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

(Tip of the cap to Barry Wellman.)

Establish Dominance in Academia

"If [fill in] wants to establish dominance, they can just pee in the corner." is going to be my new go-to line in academia.

Further pedagogical counsel from @ProfChrisMJones and @nlmtys.

You could be a hardass about attendance, or.... pic.twitter.com/Pa8095kmGA

— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) August 16, 2020

"Rotating" Cubes: An Impressive Visual Illusion

This visual illusion is very impressive. (I was skeptical and stopped and restarted the animated gif many times to look at the angles.)

One of the most powerful motion illusions I've seen: The cubes appear to be rotating in opposite directions – but they're not actually moving at all… 😮

Credit: @jagarikin pic.twitter.com/RgUFskZbZU

— Steve Stewart-Williams (@SteveStuWill) August 15, 2020

(Tip of the cap to Philip E. Tetlock.)

A Four-Base Error

The Dodger broadcasters were just describing this play. This is the 15th four-base error on record in Major League Baseball history.

It is the 1st of these that went over the wall.

(Note: The ball that went off of José Canseco's head was ruled a home run.)

New XKCD: "Mathematical Symbol Fight"

XKCD understands me.

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

When a Math Problem Comes Along, You Must Whip it!

When I return to teaching offline, clearly I should go full Devo. pic.twitter.com/udqmPGZ9Kw

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) August 5, 2020

Be Both the Doctor and the Kid

Yes!!!

The Doctor.
The Kid.
Be both.
🦋A new post about creativity👇:https://t.co/E7vaCJbOT2 pic.twitter.com/uKAcHMzUzX

— Jordi Lafebre (@jordilafebre) August 4, 2020

(Tip of the cap to Sydney Padua.)

"How to Move a SIAM Minisymposium Online from the Comfort of your Home"

Several of us wrote a paper, from the perspective of both organizers and speakers, for DSWeb about our efforts to move a SIAM minisymposium online.

Authors: Heather Z. Brooks, Yuxin Chen, Michelle Feng, Yacoub H. Kureh, Mason A. Porter, Alexandria Volkening

Play Ball!

Today it's time to start the weirdest Major League Baseball season ever!

Given the circumstances, I'm much less excited than usual about the baseball season. But, anyway: Play ball!

Mookie is Here to Stay!

The Dodgers have signed Mookie Betts to a 13-year contract (with 2020 as the first year), so he's going to be with us for a long time. Maybe he'll wear a Dodger hat on his Hall of Fame plaque?

Cardboard "Fans" at Dodger Stadium

To make the cardboard fans at Dodger Stadium more realistic, one should only start placing them in the stands after the 3rd inning starts. ;)

(I write this as a die-hard, lifelong @Dodgers fan!) pic.twitter.com/t3EXkIXF2w

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) July 21, 2020

"FIPO"

This is your occasional reminder about the mantra known as "FIPO" ( = "Fuck it. PLOS One.")

It is best used in verb form.

Example usage: "My paper got rejected from more than half a dozen journals and I wanted it out of my life, so I decided to FIPO it."

The Princess Bride: The Home Movie

I just finished watching the last installment of The Princess Bride: The Home Movie, and there are quite a few amazing appearances in it.

As it turns out, this movie also includes Carl Reiner's last screen performance.

If you have seen The Princess Bride, you definitely need to watch this version.

(And if you haven't seen the original version of The Princess Bride, you have some catching up to do!)

P.S. I have the right hair for Inigo Montoya (but I think that I would make a great Dread Pirate Roberts).

Update (7/11/20): I really enjoyed this version of the movie. It is kitschy, of course, but it's supposed to be. There are some really cool performances and choices of actors in it. And some cool bits of humor with improved props. It's definitely worth watching. Obviously, it's not polished like the original, but it isn't supposed to be.