Comments on: Random baffling math paper title generator http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Mon, 20 May 2013 15:54:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: endymion http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934657 endymion Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934657 This is just boingboing readers, who generally pride themselves on being technically educated and informed, turning on their own kind. What Kundera calls being "the brilliant ally of your own gravediggers". For shame. This is just boingboing readers, who generally pride themselves on being technically educated and informed, turning on their own kind. What Kundera calls being “the brilliant ally of your own gravediggers”.

For shame.

]]> By: YarbroughFair http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934665 YarbroughFair Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934665 You all have short memories; we already did this on BoingBoing using Google Scribe: I started with the word “covariance’s" and Google Scribe made multiple suggestions. Amazingly, math related subjects were offered: Covariance’s Between Traits and Heliotypes When Linked With Disequilibrium Mapping. http://scribe.googlelabs.com/ You all have short memories; we already did this on BoingBoing using Google Scribe: I started with the word “covariance’s” and Google Scribe made multiple suggestions. Amazingly, math related subjects were offered:

Covariance’s Between Traits and Heliotypes When Linked With Disequilibrium Mapping.

http://scribe.googlelabs.com/

]]> By: Xenu http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934693 Xenu Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934693 Reminds me of SciGen, the program that generates gibberish computer science papers. It even spits out LaTeX with fancy charts and graphs. http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/ Reminds me of SciGen, the program that generates gibberish computer science papers. It even spits out LaTeX with fancy charts and graphs.

http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/

]]> By: foxtails http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934695 foxtails Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934695 Imagine the mathematicians who Google for an obscure concept and find this page at the top of their search results, only to become frustrated. Imagine the mathematicians who Google for an obscure concept and find this page at the top of their search results, only to become frustrated.

]]> By: Jonathan Badger http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934696 Jonathan Badger Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934696 Exactly. It's funny when somebody makes a postmodern title generator, because the whole point is that the random titles are no more meaningless than what people like Deleuze wrote in complete seriousness. But math and science use "funny" jargon for legitimate communication purposes -- not to bamboozle. Exactly. It’s funny when somebody makes a postmodern title generator, because the whole point is that the random titles are no more meaningless than what people like Deleuze wrote in complete seriousness. But math and science use “funny” jargon for legitimate communication purposes — not to bamboozle.

]]> By: knappa http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934976 knappa Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934976 I know, I got: "The Tutte Polynomial of prime knots up to arc index 11." Since the Tutte polynomial (apparently) specializes to the Jones polynomial, it might even be interesting. I know, I got:
“The Tutte Polynomial of prime knots up to arc index 11.”
Since the Tutte polynomial (apparently) specializes to the Jones polynomial, it might even be interesting.

]]> By: Rob Beschizza http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934724 Rob Beschizza Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934724 I'm sorry that some of you are too concrete-minded to see that this isn't the same joke as Sokal/Pomo autogeneration. If you think this is an attack on mathematics or the authors of papers archived at Cornell (in the way that pomo generators carry implied attacks on postmodernism and postmodernists), you're as dense as an omniderivative Millard-Arendt complex plane eigenpostulate. I’m sorry that some of you are too concrete-minded to see that this isn’t the same joke as Sokal/Pomo autogeneration. If you think this is an attack on mathematics or the authors of papers archived at Cornell (in the way that pomo generators carry implied attacks on postmodernism and postmodernists), you’re as dense as an omniderivative Millard-Arendt complex plane eigenpostulate.

]]> By: YarbroughFair http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-935250 YarbroughFair Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-935250 It's so nice to see all you mathletes take a break and visit BoingBoing. It’s so nice to see all you mathletes take a break and visit BoingBoing.

]]> By: Vorn http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934754 Vorn Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934754 It stinks. It stinks.

]]> By: Ambiguity http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934755 Ambiguity Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934755 <blockquote>For shame.</blockquote> No. For fun!

For shame.

No. For fun!

]]> By: Ambiguity http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934760 Ambiguity Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934760 "Upper bounds for the parabolic Anderson model." I actually found an <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mahiram.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/38.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mahiram.com/2010/07/26/pamela-anderson-i-am-not-broke/&h=500&w=386&sz=49&tbnid=Edyu2Rz01R137M:&tbnh=130&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpamela%2Banderson&zoom=1&q=pamela+anderson&hl=en&usg=__ci9zkVSd55ric7MaLplif3ppTks=&sa=X&ei=IynbTIbdJ4WClAeOqbzYCQ&ved=0CCYQ9QEwAQ">illustration</a> for that. “Upper bounds for the parabolic Anderson model.”

I actually found an illustration for that.

]]> By: fnc http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934770 fnc Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934770 "Instability of repulsive point processes." Oh god, it's prom night all over again. “Instability of repulsive point processes.”

Oh god, it’s prom night all over again.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-935034 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-935034 I've seen a few of these on wikipedia. I've found trying to review even simple math concepts on wikipedia is hell, because usually I only need to follow 1-2 links to get to something I've never heard of and wouldn't understand without years of grad school math. I’ve seen a few of these on wikipedia. I’ve found trying to review even simple math concepts on wikipedia is hell, because usually I only need to follow 1-2 links to get to something I’ve never heard of and wouldn’t understand without years of grad school math.

]]> By: PaulR http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934781 PaulR Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934781 Obligatory XKCD strip requiring an hour and a half of research, just to get the punch line: http://xkcd.com/207/ Third frame down... Happy hunting. Obligatory XKCD strip requiring an hour and a half of research, just to get the punch line:
http://xkcd.com/207/

Third frame down…

Happy hunting.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-935038 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-935038 The intricacies of protein folding are a real bitch too http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_value_analysis The intricacies of protein folding are a real bitch too http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_value_analysis

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-935567 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-935567 "On the partial Ricci curvature of the Electromagnetic S-Wave with the Thin Metal Film." Now I know how magnets work... almost. (the term "electromagnetic" always seems to appear along with the phrase "thin metal film". Some bias in the algorithm?) “On the partial Ricci curvature of the Electromagnetic S-Wave with the Thin Metal Film.”

Now I know how magnets work… almost.
(the term “electromagnetic” always seems to appear along with the phrase “thin metal film”. Some bias in the algorithm?)

]]> By: JoshuaZ http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934825 JoshuaZ Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934825 This is great. As a math grad student I find this deeply amusing. Trying to interpret some of these is fun. Right now my list includes "Fake lifting of squares" which I'm trying to figure out a reasonable meaning for. One can talk about lifting of polynomials in general (from a mod p^n to mod p^(n+1)) but I'm not sure what fake lifting would entail. Another one of the title "Fast Grobner Basis Computation and function spaces" sounds highly reasonable. This is great. As a math grad student I find this deeply amusing. Trying to interpret some of these is fun. Right now my list includes “Fake lifting of squares” which I’m trying to figure out a reasonable meaning for. One can talk about lifting of polynomials in general (from a mod p^n to mod p^(n+1)) but I’m not sure what fake lifting would entail.

Another one of the title “Fast Grobner Basis Computation and function spaces” sounds highly reasonable.

]]> By: endymion http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934829 endymion Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934829 No, I don't think it's an attack on mathematics or the papers' authors. I just think it's cheap. Notice that when math jokes are really funny (like the xkcd example offered above), the authors get the math, and the substance of the math is part of the joke. This is true even for self-deprecating mathematical jokes. No, I don’t think it’s an attack on mathematics or the papers’ authors. I just think it’s cheap. Notice that when math jokes are really funny (like the xkcd example offered above), the authors get the math, and the substance of the math is part of the joke. This is true even for self-deprecating mathematical jokes.

]]> By: shash http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-935085 shash Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-935085 Bozhe Moi! Bozhe Moi!

]]> By: Rob Beschizza http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934847 Rob Beschizza Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934847 I'm sorry, endymion. I thought when you said 'turning on their own kind' you actually meant that! The Kundera quote, which refers to intelligent people lured by Nazism and Stalinism into destroying their own freedoms, is a particularly bizarre remark. Do you really expect to be taken seriously? Because you are taking this too seriously. I’m sorry, endymion. I thought when you said ‘turning on their own kind’ you actually meant that!

The Kundera quote, which refers to intelligent people lured by Nazism and Stalinism into destroying their own freedoms, is a particularly bizarre remark. Do you really expect to be taken seriously? Because you are taking this too seriously.

]]> By: TooGoodToCheck http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-935108 TooGoodToCheck Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-935108 Pfaffian! I realize it's actually not one of the more baffling math things you're going to encounter, but I love the way the word looks. Pfaffian Pfaffian! I realize it’s actually not one of the more baffling math things you’re going to encounter, but I love the way the word looks.

Pfaffian

]]> By: Donald Petersen http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934600 Donald Petersen Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934600 Like a Monday-Mean Monkey pounding his Underwood, you now run the risk of publishing the Grand Unified Theory, only to see all chance of remuneration and fame slip through your fingers when some fool refreshes. Like a Monday-Mean Monkey pounding his Underwood, you now run the risk of publishing the Grand Unified Theory, only to see all chance of remuneration and fame slip through your fingers when some fool refreshes.

]]> By: Avram / Moderator http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934607 Avram / Moderator Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934607 "The Analytic and Algebraic Topology of Locally Euclidean Parameterization of Infinitely Differentiable Riemannian Manifolds" “The Analytic and Algebraic Topology of Locally Euclidean Parameterization of Infinitely Differentiable Riemannian Manifolds”

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934608 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934608 There would be a generator like this for philosophy as well. There would be a generator like this for philosophy as well.

]]> By: sloverlord http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934613 sloverlord Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934613 If you do have a math background, you can still have fun trying to make these make sense. For example, you <i>could</i> conceivably have a Non-zero Sum Stochastic Differential Game on a Higher-Dimensional Covariance Matrix. I can't imagine it being a whole lot of fun, but with enough mental gymnastics you could do it. If you do have a math background, you can still have fun trying to make these make sense. For example, you could conceivably have a Non-zero Sum Stochastic Differential Game on a Higher-Dimensional Covariance Matrix. I can’t imagine it being a whole lot of fun, but with enough mental gymnastics you could do it.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934614 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934614 and darn how lovely they look in hoefler. .~. and darn how lovely they look in hoefler.

.~.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934615 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934615 Where's the Greek? Where’s the Greek?

]]> By: Rob Beschizza http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934876 Rob Beschizza Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934876 "Fake lifting of squares" is clearly the refutation of an awful study (into the mind-control effects of non-ionising radiation), whose fraudulent authors scurrilously deployed a topological analysis to give a false impression of electromagnetic effects over distance. “Fake lifting of squares” is clearly the refutation of an awful study (into the mind-control effects of non-ionising radiation), whose fraudulent authors scurrilously deployed a topological analysis to give a false impression of electromagnetic effects over distance.

]]> By: cservant http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934621 cservant Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934621 "Application of small-scale fading envelopes". Oh man small-scaling fading envelopes! “Application of small-scale fading envelopes”.

Oh man small-scaling fading envelopes!

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/11/10/mathbaffle.html#comment-934633 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-934633 AVRAM: I should probably nominate myself as the annoying person who points out that Tom Lehrer's paper title from Plagiarize does, in fact, make perfect sense (though it's a bit vague). AVRAM:

I should probably nominate myself as the annoying person who points out that Tom Lehrer’s paper title from Plagiarize does, in fact, make perfect sense (though it’s a bit vague).

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