Accidental expletives in mathematical literature. [on hold]
up vote
55
down vote
favorite
It's a bit of a silly one, yeah, but this question has so far been unanswered in any readily accessible place online (as far as I can tell).
Are there any instances of expletives (in any language) that have occurred (preferably by mistake) in serious, mathematical literature?
I don't know of any examples.
The sort of thing I am looking for:
Suppose a paper is published studying a phenomenon innocently with the variables $c, f, k, u$ and there just so happens to be the expression
$$f^uck$$
somewhere in a derivation of some identity or what have you.
NB: I believe that this question is within SE standards since it is talking about the words themselves, although it is a bit risqué!
reference-request book-recommendation math-history big-list translation-request
put on hold as off-topic by Clement C., Brahadeesh, Parcly Taxel, user21820, amWhy 12 hours ago
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "This question is not about mathematics, within the scope defined in the help center." – Clement C., Brahadeesh, Parcly Taxel, user21820, amWhy
If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
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show 15 more comments
up vote
55
down vote
favorite
It's a bit of a silly one, yeah, but this question has so far been unanswered in any readily accessible place online (as far as I can tell).
Are there any instances of expletives (in any language) that have occurred (preferably by mistake) in serious, mathematical literature?
I don't know of any examples.
The sort of thing I am looking for:
Suppose a paper is published studying a phenomenon innocently with the variables $c, f, k, u$ and there just so happens to be the expression
$$f^uck$$
somewhere in a derivation of some identity or what have you.
NB: I believe that this question is within SE standards since it is talking about the words themselves, although it is a bit risqué!
reference-request book-recommendation math-history big-list translation-request
put on hold as off-topic by Clement C., Brahadeesh, Parcly Taxel, user21820, amWhy 12 hours ago
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "This question is not about mathematics, within the scope defined in the help center." – Clement C., Brahadeesh, Parcly Taxel, user21820, amWhy
If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
10
such an expression can arise if $f$ is uniformly continuous on a compact set $K$
– mathworker21
yesterday
18
I've seen a photo of a "$p in mathbb{N}$ is" on a blackboard. Not having the context, I don't know whether it was a proper accident...
– darij grinberg
yesterday
11
Said cross-cap. Freud would be proud.
– AccidentalFourierTransform
yesterday
9
There is always the Cox-Zucker Machine. However, I have heard that this was not entirely accidental...
– Jair Taylor
yesterday
13
Many math publications contain the substringanal
, though not as a complete word. A colleague of mine becomes very anxious when we're sitting at his desk and he has to google something containing "analysis". He types "ysis" fast enough so that the history doesn't appear.
– Eric Duminil
yesterday
|
show 15 more comments
up vote
55
down vote
favorite
up vote
55
down vote
favorite
It's a bit of a silly one, yeah, but this question has so far been unanswered in any readily accessible place online (as far as I can tell).
Are there any instances of expletives (in any language) that have occurred (preferably by mistake) in serious, mathematical literature?
I don't know of any examples.
The sort of thing I am looking for:
Suppose a paper is published studying a phenomenon innocently with the variables $c, f, k, u$ and there just so happens to be the expression
$$f^uck$$
somewhere in a derivation of some identity or what have you.
NB: I believe that this question is within SE standards since it is talking about the words themselves, although it is a bit risqué!
reference-request book-recommendation math-history big-list translation-request
It's a bit of a silly one, yeah, but this question has so far been unanswered in any readily accessible place online (as far as I can tell).
Are there any instances of expletives (in any language) that have occurred (preferably by mistake) in serious, mathematical literature?
I don't know of any examples.
The sort of thing I am looking for:
Suppose a paper is published studying a phenomenon innocently with the variables $c, f, k, u$ and there just so happens to be the expression
$$f^uck$$
somewhere in a derivation of some identity or what have you.
NB: I believe that this question is within SE standards since it is talking about the words themselves, although it is a bit risqué!
reference-request book-recommendation math-history big-list translation-request
reference-request book-recommendation math-history big-list translation-request
edited yesterday
community wiki
Shaun
put on hold as off-topic by Clement C., Brahadeesh, Parcly Taxel, user21820, amWhy 12 hours ago
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "This question is not about mathematics, within the scope defined in the help center." – Clement C., Brahadeesh, Parcly Taxel, user21820, amWhy
If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
put on hold as off-topic by Clement C., Brahadeesh, Parcly Taxel, user21820, amWhy 12 hours ago
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "This question is not about mathematics, within the scope defined in the help center." – Clement C., Brahadeesh, Parcly Taxel, user21820, amWhy
If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
10
such an expression can arise if $f$ is uniformly continuous on a compact set $K$
– mathworker21
yesterday
18
I've seen a photo of a "$p in mathbb{N}$ is" on a blackboard. Not having the context, I don't know whether it was a proper accident...
– darij grinberg
yesterday
11
Said cross-cap. Freud would be proud.
– AccidentalFourierTransform
yesterday
9
There is always the Cox-Zucker Machine. However, I have heard that this was not entirely accidental...
– Jair Taylor
yesterday
13
Many math publications contain the substringanal
, though not as a complete word. A colleague of mine becomes very anxious when we're sitting at his desk and he has to google something containing "analysis". He types "ysis" fast enough so that the history doesn't appear.
– Eric Duminil
yesterday
|
show 15 more comments
10
such an expression can arise if $f$ is uniformly continuous on a compact set $K$
– mathworker21
yesterday
18
I've seen a photo of a "$p in mathbb{N}$ is" on a blackboard. Not having the context, I don't know whether it was a proper accident...
– darij grinberg
yesterday
11
Said cross-cap. Freud would be proud.
– AccidentalFourierTransform
yesterday
9
There is always the Cox-Zucker Machine. However, I have heard that this was not entirely accidental...
– Jair Taylor
yesterday
13
Many math publications contain the substringanal
, though not as a complete word. A colleague of mine becomes very anxious when we're sitting at his desk and he has to google something containing "analysis". He types "ysis" fast enough so that the history doesn't appear.
– Eric Duminil
yesterday
10
10
such an expression can arise if $f$ is uniformly continuous on a compact set $K$
– mathworker21
yesterday
such an expression can arise if $f$ is uniformly continuous on a compact set $K$
– mathworker21
yesterday
18
18
I've seen a photo of a "$p in mathbb{N}$ is" on a blackboard. Not having the context, I don't know whether it was a proper accident...
– darij grinberg
yesterday
I've seen a photo of a "$p in mathbb{N}$ is" on a blackboard. Not having the context, I don't know whether it was a proper accident...
– darij grinberg
yesterday
11
11
Said cross-cap. Freud would be proud.
– AccidentalFourierTransform
yesterday
Said cross-cap. Freud would be proud.
– AccidentalFourierTransform
yesterday
9
9
There is always the Cox-Zucker Machine. However, I have heard that this was not entirely accidental...
– Jair Taylor
yesterday
There is always the Cox-Zucker Machine. However, I have heard that this was not entirely accidental...
– Jair Taylor
yesterday
13
13
Many math publications contain the substring
anal
, though not as a complete word. A colleague of mine becomes very anxious when we're sitting at his desk and he has to google something containing "analysis". He types "ysis" fast enough so that the history doesn't appear.– Eric Duminil
yesterday
Many math publications contain the substring
anal
, though not as a complete word. A colleague of mine becomes very anxious when we're sitting at his desk and he has to google something containing "analysis". He types "ysis" fast enough so that the history doesn't appear.– Eric Duminil
yesterday
|
show 15 more comments
14 Answers
14
active
oldest
votes
up vote
57
down vote
I have no way of knowing if it was accidental or intentional, but the expression
$$C(u,n,t_1,dots,t_k)$$
occurs on p. 95 of Paul J. Cohen, Set Theory and the Continuum Hypothesis, W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1966, in section III.4, "Proof of AC and GCH in L".
7
A Google search reveals at least a couple of published papers in which “Continuum Hypothesis” was spelled with one too many u’s and one too few o’s. (The examples I found were only misspellings of article titles in bibliographies.)
– Steve Kass
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
43
down vote
This wasn't published, but I'll post it anyway. I apologize for not using MathJax below, but the plain text representation more accurately represents the handwriting, which is relevant to the story.
In my freshman linear algebra class, the professor illustrated the calculation of the determinant a generic $3 times 3$ matrix
$$left( begin{array}{ccc} a & b & c \ d & e & f \ g & h & i end{array} right)$$
via the Laplace expansion by minors down the first column. One term (not including the leading minus sign) is
"d (bi-ch)".
Some wise guy asked "Does this also work for calculating the permanent?", correctly predicting what was about to happen. The professor cheerfully responded "Yep, you just change all the minuses to plusses!" and changed it to
"d (bi+ch)".
When everyone laughed, he looked horrified and erased it right away.
11
Wow, your freshman linear algebra class covered permanents?
– bof
yesterday
16
@bof I mean, I think the professor covered it at the level of "There's also something called the permanent, which is like the determinant but with all plus signs, and which is much less common than the determinant but still sometimes useful."
– tparker
yesterday
13
On the topic, the wikipedia article on the permanent features the delightful sentence "multiplying any single row or column of $A$ by a scalar $s$ changes $perm(A)$ to $s cdot perm(A)$"
– ekkilop
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
20
down vote
The set of associated primes of an $R$-module $M$ is denoted by
$$mathrm{Ass}_R(M) $$
This is universal notation. Look in any textbook on commutative algebra.
add a comment |
up vote
18
down vote
My Linear Algebra lecturer kept on talking about $s in X$ and $v_j$. The latter is more of a stretch, but I imagine both occur very frequently in the literature.
9
As does inevitably $b_j$ when you're already using $a_i$...
– Robert Wolfe
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
17
down vote
Perhaps a bit obscure, but perfectly serious:
The Cox-Zucker machine is an algorithm that determines if a set of sections provides a basis for the Mordell–Weil group of an elliptic surface $E → S$ where $S$ is isomorphic to the projective line.
4
The Talk page on Wikipedia has an (unsigned) claim that Dr. Cox specifically chose Dr. Zucker as a collaborator in order to produce the salacious-sounding name.
– Ross Presser
yesterday
Calling it a "machine" also seems deliberate - wouldn't "algorithm" be more usual?
– Michael Lugo
yesterday
@MichaelLugo There's a precedent for calling algorithms "machines", depending on how generic they are. See e.g. a Turing machine, which is just an algorithm with more vague variables than math normally has. I don't have enough of a math background to evaluate the Cox-Zucker machine to see if that's the case there.
– Nic Hartley
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
Crossing to a different science (so slightly off topic!). But Proton Enhanced Nuclear Induction Spectroscopy is a genuine NMR spectroscopy technique (and it's in a field where everything is known by acronyms so yeah it was deliberate...) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-enhanced_nuclear_induction_spectroscopy
Sadly it's usually known as Cross Polarisation (CP) nowadays.
I like this, especially since the linked Wikipedia page uses the original acronym :)
– Will Appleby
yesterday
5
I never expected to read this setence in Wikipedia: "The PENIS technique was patented in 1972."
– Ral Zarek
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
6
down vote
My Linear Algebra professor once referenced a matrix with $A_{RS}$. When the students laughed, he told us about a pamphlet from the end of the Thirty Years' War titled "Mars is in the Ars".
1
See also: the RSA cryptosystem, notably with its inventors' initials not in alphabetical order. (Although, it's more likely that Adleman thought he didn't contribute to it as much as Rivest and Shamir did.)
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
I remember well that we had a book from a Professor Fick during my physics studies, and used to refer to it as the 'Fick-Book', often in public; to the consternation and shock of other people around us (in the tram, or in cafes)
[Fick is the german work for 'fuck']
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Fick
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
One well-known example, that arose when branes were introduced into String Theory (physics), was that people studying $p$-dimensional branes were branded “$p$-brane theorists”. (Like some examples above, that is perhaps more a homonym of an explicative.)
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
It's more engineering than mathematics, but there is a well-known supplier of electronic test equipment called Wayne Kerr. You have to believe that the company name was chosen innocently by someone naive who hadn't talked to their shop-floor workers.
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
The 1996 University of Cambridge Mathematical Tripos IB (second year undergraduate exam), Paper 1, had question 5D on Linear Mathematics ending with the sentence:
Define the dual map $alpha^*$ and prove that $alpha^* f_r^* = sum_{s=1}^n a_{rs}e_s^*$, $1 le r le m$.
1
Can you explain what this is hinting at? I don't see it at all.
– Git Gud
13 hours ago
@GitGud $a_{rs}e$ -> arse.
– User
13 hours ago
Indeed $a_{rs}e_s$ gives the plural "arses"!
– Ben C
13 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
There is a certain Dr. Bagger who is active in Theoretical Physics (quite mathematical, at least to us experimentalists). He often works in collaboration with others and since his name is quite near the beginning of the alphabet, his citations lead to a witty coincidence (probably funnier for British people...).
From page 181 of https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/0203079.pdf
1
The Question asks about mathematical literature, which possibly could be broadly interpreted to include theoretical physics papers. However without a link or proper citation, it's hard to gauge how relevant your proposed example is. Perhaps a citation of the paper (in other literature) would serve this purpose.
– hardmath
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
I'm currently reading this paper https://arxiv.org/abs/1207.4750 (which, admittedly is physics not math) on page 5 they are describing a general procedure so they just give an example of an action which they denote as
$$S_{ex}$$
S because that is the traditional way of denoting an action, and ex because it's just a generic example that they trying to use
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
This happend digital electronic class. Teacher was explaining some circuit that she drawn on blackboard. Output was Q0 to Q7, every time she say Q2 we were chuckling. It took her some time to realize that Q2 (pronounced kudwa) is very similar to word kurwa (fuck or bitch, depend on context).
This is in Poland?
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
14 Answers
14
active
oldest
votes
14 Answers
14
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
57
down vote
I have no way of knowing if it was accidental or intentional, but the expression
$$C(u,n,t_1,dots,t_k)$$
occurs on p. 95 of Paul J. Cohen, Set Theory and the Continuum Hypothesis, W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1966, in section III.4, "Proof of AC and GCH in L".
7
A Google search reveals at least a couple of published papers in which “Continuum Hypothesis” was spelled with one too many u’s and one too few o’s. (The examples I found were only misspellings of article titles in bibliographies.)
– Steve Kass
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
57
down vote
I have no way of knowing if it was accidental or intentional, but the expression
$$C(u,n,t_1,dots,t_k)$$
occurs on p. 95 of Paul J. Cohen, Set Theory and the Continuum Hypothesis, W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1966, in section III.4, "Proof of AC and GCH in L".
7
A Google search reveals at least a couple of published papers in which “Continuum Hypothesis” was spelled with one too many u’s and one too few o’s. (The examples I found were only misspellings of article titles in bibliographies.)
– Steve Kass
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
57
down vote
up vote
57
down vote
I have no way of knowing if it was accidental or intentional, but the expression
$$C(u,n,t_1,dots,t_k)$$
occurs on p. 95 of Paul J. Cohen, Set Theory and the Continuum Hypothesis, W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1966, in section III.4, "Proof of AC and GCH in L".
I have no way of knowing if it was accidental or intentional, but the expression
$$C(u,n,t_1,dots,t_k)$$
occurs on p. 95 of Paul J. Cohen, Set Theory and the Continuum Hypothesis, W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1966, in section III.4, "Proof of AC and GCH in L".
edited yesterday
community wiki
bof
7
A Google search reveals at least a couple of published papers in which “Continuum Hypothesis” was spelled with one too many u’s and one too few o’s. (The examples I found were only misspellings of article titles in bibliographies.)
– Steve Kass
yesterday
add a comment |
7
A Google search reveals at least a couple of published papers in which “Continuum Hypothesis” was spelled with one too many u’s and one too few o’s. (The examples I found were only misspellings of article titles in bibliographies.)
– Steve Kass
yesterday
7
7
A Google search reveals at least a couple of published papers in which “Continuum Hypothesis” was spelled with one too many u’s and one too few o’s. (The examples I found were only misspellings of article titles in bibliographies.)
– Steve Kass
yesterday
A Google search reveals at least a couple of published papers in which “Continuum Hypothesis” was spelled with one too many u’s and one too few o’s. (The examples I found were only misspellings of article titles in bibliographies.)
– Steve Kass
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
43
down vote
This wasn't published, but I'll post it anyway. I apologize for not using MathJax below, but the plain text representation more accurately represents the handwriting, which is relevant to the story.
In my freshman linear algebra class, the professor illustrated the calculation of the determinant a generic $3 times 3$ matrix
$$left( begin{array}{ccc} a & b & c \ d & e & f \ g & h & i end{array} right)$$
via the Laplace expansion by minors down the first column. One term (not including the leading minus sign) is
"d (bi-ch)".
Some wise guy asked "Does this also work for calculating the permanent?", correctly predicting what was about to happen. The professor cheerfully responded "Yep, you just change all the minuses to plusses!" and changed it to
"d (bi+ch)".
When everyone laughed, he looked horrified and erased it right away.
11
Wow, your freshman linear algebra class covered permanents?
– bof
yesterday
16
@bof I mean, I think the professor covered it at the level of "There's also something called the permanent, which is like the determinant but with all plus signs, and which is much less common than the determinant but still sometimes useful."
– tparker
yesterday
13
On the topic, the wikipedia article on the permanent features the delightful sentence "multiplying any single row or column of $A$ by a scalar $s$ changes $perm(A)$ to $s cdot perm(A)$"
– ekkilop
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
43
down vote
This wasn't published, but I'll post it anyway. I apologize for not using MathJax below, but the plain text representation more accurately represents the handwriting, which is relevant to the story.
In my freshman linear algebra class, the professor illustrated the calculation of the determinant a generic $3 times 3$ matrix
$$left( begin{array}{ccc} a & b & c \ d & e & f \ g & h & i end{array} right)$$
via the Laplace expansion by minors down the first column. One term (not including the leading minus sign) is
"d (bi-ch)".
Some wise guy asked "Does this also work for calculating the permanent?", correctly predicting what was about to happen. The professor cheerfully responded "Yep, you just change all the minuses to plusses!" and changed it to
"d (bi+ch)".
When everyone laughed, he looked horrified and erased it right away.
11
Wow, your freshman linear algebra class covered permanents?
– bof
yesterday
16
@bof I mean, I think the professor covered it at the level of "There's also something called the permanent, which is like the determinant but with all plus signs, and which is much less common than the determinant but still sometimes useful."
– tparker
yesterday
13
On the topic, the wikipedia article on the permanent features the delightful sentence "multiplying any single row or column of $A$ by a scalar $s$ changes $perm(A)$ to $s cdot perm(A)$"
– ekkilop
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
43
down vote
up vote
43
down vote
This wasn't published, but I'll post it anyway. I apologize for not using MathJax below, but the plain text representation more accurately represents the handwriting, which is relevant to the story.
In my freshman linear algebra class, the professor illustrated the calculation of the determinant a generic $3 times 3$ matrix
$$left( begin{array}{ccc} a & b & c \ d & e & f \ g & h & i end{array} right)$$
via the Laplace expansion by minors down the first column. One term (not including the leading minus sign) is
"d (bi-ch)".
Some wise guy asked "Does this also work for calculating the permanent?", correctly predicting what was about to happen. The professor cheerfully responded "Yep, you just change all the minuses to plusses!" and changed it to
"d (bi+ch)".
When everyone laughed, he looked horrified and erased it right away.
This wasn't published, but I'll post it anyway. I apologize for not using MathJax below, but the plain text representation more accurately represents the handwriting, which is relevant to the story.
In my freshman linear algebra class, the professor illustrated the calculation of the determinant a generic $3 times 3$ matrix
$$left( begin{array}{ccc} a & b & c \ d & e & f \ g & h & i end{array} right)$$
via the Laplace expansion by minors down the first column. One term (not including the leading minus sign) is
"d (bi-ch)".
Some wise guy asked "Does this also work for calculating the permanent?", correctly predicting what was about to happen. The professor cheerfully responded "Yep, you just change all the minuses to plusses!" and changed it to
"d (bi+ch)".
When everyone laughed, he looked horrified and erased it right away.
answered yesterday
community wiki
tparker
11
Wow, your freshman linear algebra class covered permanents?
– bof
yesterday
16
@bof I mean, I think the professor covered it at the level of "There's also something called the permanent, which is like the determinant but with all plus signs, and which is much less common than the determinant but still sometimes useful."
– tparker
yesterday
13
On the topic, the wikipedia article on the permanent features the delightful sentence "multiplying any single row or column of $A$ by a scalar $s$ changes $perm(A)$ to $s cdot perm(A)$"
– ekkilop
yesterday
add a comment |
11
Wow, your freshman linear algebra class covered permanents?
– bof
yesterday
16
@bof I mean, I think the professor covered it at the level of "There's also something called the permanent, which is like the determinant but with all plus signs, and which is much less common than the determinant but still sometimes useful."
– tparker
yesterday
13
On the topic, the wikipedia article on the permanent features the delightful sentence "multiplying any single row or column of $A$ by a scalar $s$ changes $perm(A)$ to $s cdot perm(A)$"
– ekkilop
yesterday
11
11
Wow, your freshman linear algebra class covered permanents?
– bof
yesterday
Wow, your freshman linear algebra class covered permanents?
– bof
yesterday
16
16
@bof I mean, I think the professor covered it at the level of "There's also something called the permanent, which is like the determinant but with all plus signs, and which is much less common than the determinant but still sometimes useful."
– tparker
yesterday
@bof I mean, I think the professor covered it at the level of "There's also something called the permanent, which is like the determinant but with all plus signs, and which is much less common than the determinant but still sometimes useful."
– tparker
yesterday
13
13
On the topic, the wikipedia article on the permanent features the delightful sentence "multiplying any single row or column of $A$ by a scalar $s$ changes $perm(A)$ to $s cdot perm(A)$"
– ekkilop
yesterday
On the topic, the wikipedia article on the permanent features the delightful sentence "multiplying any single row or column of $A$ by a scalar $s$ changes $perm(A)$ to $s cdot perm(A)$"
– ekkilop
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
20
down vote
The set of associated primes of an $R$-module $M$ is denoted by
$$mathrm{Ass}_R(M) $$
This is universal notation. Look in any textbook on commutative algebra.
add a comment |
up vote
20
down vote
The set of associated primes of an $R$-module $M$ is denoted by
$$mathrm{Ass}_R(M) $$
This is universal notation. Look in any textbook on commutative algebra.
add a comment |
up vote
20
down vote
up vote
20
down vote
The set of associated primes of an $R$-module $M$ is denoted by
$$mathrm{Ass}_R(M) $$
This is universal notation. Look in any textbook on commutative algebra.
The set of associated primes of an $R$-module $M$ is denoted by
$$mathrm{Ass}_R(M) $$
This is universal notation. Look in any textbook on commutative algebra.
edited yesterday
community wiki
Matt Samuel
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
18
down vote
My Linear Algebra lecturer kept on talking about $s in X$ and $v_j$. The latter is more of a stretch, but I imagine both occur very frequently in the literature.
9
As does inevitably $b_j$ when you're already using $a_i$...
– Robert Wolfe
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
18
down vote
My Linear Algebra lecturer kept on talking about $s in X$ and $v_j$. The latter is more of a stretch, but I imagine both occur very frequently in the literature.
9
As does inevitably $b_j$ when you're already using $a_i$...
– Robert Wolfe
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
18
down vote
up vote
18
down vote
My Linear Algebra lecturer kept on talking about $s in X$ and $v_j$. The latter is more of a stretch, but I imagine both occur very frequently in the literature.
My Linear Algebra lecturer kept on talking about $s in X$ and $v_j$. The latter is more of a stretch, but I imagine both occur very frequently in the literature.
answered yesterday
community wiki
Jared Norman
9
As does inevitably $b_j$ when you're already using $a_i$...
– Robert Wolfe
yesterday
add a comment |
9
As does inevitably $b_j$ when you're already using $a_i$...
– Robert Wolfe
yesterday
9
9
As does inevitably $b_j$ when you're already using $a_i$...
– Robert Wolfe
yesterday
As does inevitably $b_j$ when you're already using $a_i$...
– Robert Wolfe
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
17
down vote
Perhaps a bit obscure, but perfectly serious:
The Cox-Zucker machine is an algorithm that determines if a set of sections provides a basis for the Mordell–Weil group of an elliptic surface $E → S$ where $S$ is isomorphic to the projective line.
4
The Talk page on Wikipedia has an (unsigned) claim that Dr. Cox specifically chose Dr. Zucker as a collaborator in order to produce the salacious-sounding name.
– Ross Presser
yesterday
Calling it a "machine" also seems deliberate - wouldn't "algorithm" be more usual?
– Michael Lugo
yesterday
@MichaelLugo There's a precedent for calling algorithms "machines", depending on how generic they are. See e.g. a Turing machine, which is just an algorithm with more vague variables than math normally has. I don't have enough of a math background to evaluate the Cox-Zucker machine to see if that's the case there.
– Nic Hartley
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
17
down vote
Perhaps a bit obscure, but perfectly serious:
The Cox-Zucker machine is an algorithm that determines if a set of sections provides a basis for the Mordell–Weil group of an elliptic surface $E → S$ where $S$ is isomorphic to the projective line.
4
The Talk page on Wikipedia has an (unsigned) claim that Dr. Cox specifically chose Dr. Zucker as a collaborator in order to produce the salacious-sounding name.
– Ross Presser
yesterday
Calling it a "machine" also seems deliberate - wouldn't "algorithm" be more usual?
– Michael Lugo
yesterday
@MichaelLugo There's a precedent for calling algorithms "machines", depending on how generic they are. See e.g. a Turing machine, which is just an algorithm with more vague variables than math normally has. I don't have enough of a math background to evaluate the Cox-Zucker machine to see if that's the case there.
– Nic Hartley
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
17
down vote
up vote
17
down vote
Perhaps a bit obscure, but perfectly serious:
The Cox-Zucker machine is an algorithm that determines if a set of sections provides a basis for the Mordell–Weil group of an elliptic surface $E → S$ where $S$ is isomorphic to the projective line.
Perhaps a bit obscure, but perfectly serious:
The Cox-Zucker machine is an algorithm that determines if a set of sections provides a basis for the Mordell–Weil group of an elliptic surface $E → S$ where $S$ is isomorphic to the projective line.
answered yesterday
community wiki
aghostinthefigures
4
The Talk page on Wikipedia has an (unsigned) claim that Dr. Cox specifically chose Dr. Zucker as a collaborator in order to produce the salacious-sounding name.
– Ross Presser
yesterday
Calling it a "machine" also seems deliberate - wouldn't "algorithm" be more usual?
– Michael Lugo
yesterday
@MichaelLugo There's a precedent for calling algorithms "machines", depending on how generic they are. See e.g. a Turing machine, which is just an algorithm with more vague variables than math normally has. I don't have enough of a math background to evaluate the Cox-Zucker machine to see if that's the case there.
– Nic Hartley
yesterday
add a comment |
4
The Talk page on Wikipedia has an (unsigned) claim that Dr. Cox specifically chose Dr. Zucker as a collaborator in order to produce the salacious-sounding name.
– Ross Presser
yesterday
Calling it a "machine" also seems deliberate - wouldn't "algorithm" be more usual?
– Michael Lugo
yesterday
@MichaelLugo There's a precedent for calling algorithms "machines", depending on how generic they are. See e.g. a Turing machine, which is just an algorithm with more vague variables than math normally has. I don't have enough of a math background to evaluate the Cox-Zucker machine to see if that's the case there.
– Nic Hartley
yesterday
4
4
The Talk page on Wikipedia has an (unsigned) claim that Dr. Cox specifically chose Dr. Zucker as a collaborator in order to produce the salacious-sounding name.
– Ross Presser
yesterday
The Talk page on Wikipedia has an (unsigned) claim that Dr. Cox specifically chose Dr. Zucker as a collaborator in order to produce the salacious-sounding name.
– Ross Presser
yesterday
Calling it a "machine" also seems deliberate - wouldn't "algorithm" be more usual?
– Michael Lugo
yesterday
Calling it a "machine" also seems deliberate - wouldn't "algorithm" be more usual?
– Michael Lugo
yesterday
@MichaelLugo There's a precedent for calling algorithms "machines", depending on how generic they are. See e.g. a Turing machine, which is just an algorithm with more vague variables than math normally has. I don't have enough of a math background to evaluate the Cox-Zucker machine to see if that's the case there.
– Nic Hartley
yesterday
@MichaelLugo There's a precedent for calling algorithms "machines", depending on how generic they are. See e.g. a Turing machine, which is just an algorithm with more vague variables than math normally has. I don't have enough of a math background to evaluate the Cox-Zucker machine to see if that's the case there.
– Nic Hartley
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
Crossing to a different science (so slightly off topic!). But Proton Enhanced Nuclear Induction Spectroscopy is a genuine NMR spectroscopy technique (and it's in a field where everything is known by acronyms so yeah it was deliberate...) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-enhanced_nuclear_induction_spectroscopy
Sadly it's usually known as Cross Polarisation (CP) nowadays.
I like this, especially since the linked Wikipedia page uses the original acronym :)
– Will Appleby
yesterday
5
I never expected to read this setence in Wikipedia: "The PENIS technique was patented in 1972."
– Ral Zarek
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
Crossing to a different science (so slightly off topic!). But Proton Enhanced Nuclear Induction Spectroscopy is a genuine NMR spectroscopy technique (and it's in a field where everything is known by acronyms so yeah it was deliberate...) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-enhanced_nuclear_induction_spectroscopy
Sadly it's usually known as Cross Polarisation (CP) nowadays.
I like this, especially since the linked Wikipedia page uses the original acronym :)
– Will Appleby
yesterday
5
I never expected to read this setence in Wikipedia: "The PENIS technique was patented in 1972."
– Ral Zarek
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
up vote
15
down vote
Crossing to a different science (so slightly off topic!). But Proton Enhanced Nuclear Induction Spectroscopy is a genuine NMR spectroscopy technique (and it's in a field where everything is known by acronyms so yeah it was deliberate...) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-enhanced_nuclear_induction_spectroscopy
Sadly it's usually known as Cross Polarisation (CP) nowadays.
Crossing to a different science (so slightly off topic!). But Proton Enhanced Nuclear Induction Spectroscopy is a genuine NMR spectroscopy technique (and it's in a field where everything is known by acronyms so yeah it was deliberate...) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-enhanced_nuclear_induction_spectroscopy
Sadly it's usually known as Cross Polarisation (CP) nowadays.
answered yesterday
community wiki
jovisg
I like this, especially since the linked Wikipedia page uses the original acronym :)
– Will Appleby
yesterday
5
I never expected to read this setence in Wikipedia: "The PENIS technique was patented in 1972."
– Ral Zarek
yesterday
add a comment |
I like this, especially since the linked Wikipedia page uses the original acronym :)
– Will Appleby
yesterday
5
I never expected to read this setence in Wikipedia: "The PENIS technique was patented in 1972."
– Ral Zarek
yesterday
I like this, especially since the linked Wikipedia page uses the original acronym :)
– Will Appleby
yesterday
I like this, especially since the linked Wikipedia page uses the original acronym :)
– Will Appleby
yesterday
5
5
I never expected to read this setence in Wikipedia: "The PENIS technique was patented in 1972."
– Ral Zarek
yesterday
I never expected to read this setence in Wikipedia: "The PENIS technique was patented in 1972."
– Ral Zarek
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
6
down vote
My Linear Algebra professor once referenced a matrix with $A_{RS}$. When the students laughed, he told us about a pamphlet from the end of the Thirty Years' War titled "Mars is in the Ars".
1
See also: the RSA cryptosystem, notably with its inventors' initials not in alphabetical order. (Although, it's more likely that Adleman thought he didn't contribute to it as much as Rivest and Shamir did.)
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
6
down vote
My Linear Algebra professor once referenced a matrix with $A_{RS}$. When the students laughed, he told us about a pamphlet from the end of the Thirty Years' War titled "Mars is in the Ars".
1
See also: the RSA cryptosystem, notably with its inventors' initials not in alphabetical order. (Although, it's more likely that Adleman thought he didn't contribute to it as much as Rivest and Shamir did.)
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
6
down vote
up vote
6
down vote
My Linear Algebra professor once referenced a matrix with $A_{RS}$. When the students laughed, he told us about a pamphlet from the end of the Thirty Years' War titled "Mars is in the Ars".
My Linear Algebra professor once referenced a matrix with $A_{RS}$. When the students laughed, he told us about a pamphlet from the end of the Thirty Years' War titled "Mars is in the Ars".
answered yesterday
community wiki
Robin
1
See also: the RSA cryptosystem, notably with its inventors' initials not in alphabetical order. (Although, it's more likely that Adleman thought he didn't contribute to it as much as Rivest and Shamir did.)
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
1
See also: the RSA cryptosystem, notably with its inventors' initials not in alphabetical order. (Although, it's more likely that Adleman thought he didn't contribute to it as much as Rivest and Shamir did.)
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
1
1
See also: the RSA cryptosystem, notably with its inventors' initials not in alphabetical order. (Although, it's more likely that Adleman thought he didn't contribute to it as much as Rivest and Shamir did.)
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
See also: the RSA cryptosystem, notably with its inventors' initials not in alphabetical order. (Although, it's more likely that Adleman thought he didn't contribute to it as much as Rivest and Shamir did.)
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
I remember well that we had a book from a Professor Fick during my physics studies, and used to refer to it as the 'Fick-Book', often in public; to the consternation and shock of other people around us (in the tram, or in cafes)
[Fick is the german work for 'fuck']
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Fick
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
I remember well that we had a book from a Professor Fick during my physics studies, and used to refer to it as the 'Fick-Book', often in public; to the consternation and shock of other people around us (in the tram, or in cafes)
[Fick is the german work for 'fuck']
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Fick
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
I remember well that we had a book from a Professor Fick during my physics studies, and used to refer to it as the 'Fick-Book', often in public; to the consternation and shock of other people around us (in the tram, or in cafes)
[Fick is the german work for 'fuck']
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Fick
I remember well that we had a book from a Professor Fick during my physics studies, and used to refer to it as the 'Fick-Book', often in public; to the consternation and shock of other people around us (in the tram, or in cafes)
[Fick is the german work for 'fuck']
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Fick
answered 20 hours ago
community wiki
Aganju
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
One well-known example, that arose when branes were introduced into String Theory (physics), was that people studying $p$-dimensional branes were branded “$p$-brane theorists”. (Like some examples above, that is perhaps more a homonym of an explicative.)
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
One well-known example, that arose when branes were introduced into String Theory (physics), was that people studying $p$-dimensional branes were branded “$p$-brane theorists”. (Like some examples above, that is perhaps more a homonym of an explicative.)
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
One well-known example, that arose when branes were introduced into String Theory (physics), was that people studying $p$-dimensional branes were branded “$p$-brane theorists”. (Like some examples above, that is perhaps more a homonym of an explicative.)
One well-known example, that arose when branes were introduced into String Theory (physics), was that people studying $p$-dimensional branes were branded “$p$-brane theorists”. (Like some examples above, that is perhaps more a homonym of an explicative.)
answered yesterday
community wiki
Lars H
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
It's more engineering than mathematics, but there is a well-known supplier of electronic test equipment called Wayne Kerr. You have to believe that the company name was chosen innocently by someone naive who hadn't talked to their shop-floor workers.
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
It's more engineering than mathematics, but there is a well-known supplier of electronic test equipment called Wayne Kerr. You have to believe that the company name was chosen innocently by someone naive who hadn't talked to their shop-floor workers.
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
It's more engineering than mathematics, but there is a well-known supplier of electronic test equipment called Wayne Kerr. You have to believe that the company name was chosen innocently by someone naive who hadn't talked to their shop-floor workers.
It's more engineering than mathematics, but there is a well-known supplier of electronic test equipment called Wayne Kerr. You have to believe that the company name was chosen innocently by someone naive who hadn't talked to their shop-floor workers.
answered yesterday
community wiki
Graham
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
The 1996 University of Cambridge Mathematical Tripos IB (second year undergraduate exam), Paper 1, had question 5D on Linear Mathematics ending with the sentence:
Define the dual map $alpha^*$ and prove that $alpha^* f_r^* = sum_{s=1}^n a_{rs}e_s^*$, $1 le r le m$.
1
Can you explain what this is hinting at? I don't see it at all.
– Git Gud
13 hours ago
@GitGud $a_{rs}e$ -> arse.
– User
13 hours ago
Indeed $a_{rs}e_s$ gives the plural "arses"!
– Ben C
13 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
The 1996 University of Cambridge Mathematical Tripos IB (second year undergraduate exam), Paper 1, had question 5D on Linear Mathematics ending with the sentence:
Define the dual map $alpha^*$ and prove that $alpha^* f_r^* = sum_{s=1}^n a_{rs}e_s^*$, $1 le r le m$.
1
Can you explain what this is hinting at? I don't see it at all.
– Git Gud
13 hours ago
@GitGud $a_{rs}e$ -> arse.
– User
13 hours ago
Indeed $a_{rs}e_s$ gives the plural "arses"!
– Ben C
13 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
The 1996 University of Cambridge Mathematical Tripos IB (second year undergraduate exam), Paper 1, had question 5D on Linear Mathematics ending with the sentence:
Define the dual map $alpha^*$ and prove that $alpha^* f_r^* = sum_{s=1}^n a_{rs}e_s^*$, $1 le r le m$.
The 1996 University of Cambridge Mathematical Tripos IB (second year undergraduate exam), Paper 1, had question 5D on Linear Mathematics ending with the sentence:
Define the dual map $alpha^*$ and prove that $alpha^* f_r^* = sum_{s=1}^n a_{rs}e_s^*$, $1 le r le m$.
answered yesterday
community wiki
Ben C
1
Can you explain what this is hinting at? I don't see it at all.
– Git Gud
13 hours ago
@GitGud $a_{rs}e$ -> arse.
– User
13 hours ago
Indeed $a_{rs}e_s$ gives the plural "arses"!
– Ben C
13 hours ago
add a comment |
1
Can you explain what this is hinting at? I don't see it at all.
– Git Gud
13 hours ago
@GitGud $a_{rs}e$ -> arse.
– User
13 hours ago
Indeed $a_{rs}e_s$ gives the plural "arses"!
– Ben C
13 hours ago
1
1
Can you explain what this is hinting at? I don't see it at all.
– Git Gud
13 hours ago
Can you explain what this is hinting at? I don't see it at all.
– Git Gud
13 hours ago
@GitGud $a_{rs}e$ -> arse.
– User
13 hours ago
@GitGud $a_{rs}e$ -> arse.
– User
13 hours ago
Indeed $a_{rs}e_s$ gives the plural "arses"!
– Ben C
13 hours ago
Indeed $a_{rs}e_s$ gives the plural "arses"!
– Ben C
13 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
There is a certain Dr. Bagger who is active in Theoretical Physics (quite mathematical, at least to us experimentalists). He often works in collaboration with others and since his name is quite near the beginning of the alphabet, his citations lead to a witty coincidence (probably funnier for British people...).
From page 181 of https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/0203079.pdf
1
The Question asks about mathematical literature, which possibly could be broadly interpreted to include theoretical physics papers. However without a link or proper citation, it's hard to gauge how relevant your proposed example is. Perhaps a citation of the paper (in other literature) would serve this purpose.
– hardmath
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
There is a certain Dr. Bagger who is active in Theoretical Physics (quite mathematical, at least to us experimentalists). He often works in collaboration with others and since his name is quite near the beginning of the alphabet, his citations lead to a witty coincidence (probably funnier for British people...).
From page 181 of https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/0203079.pdf
1
The Question asks about mathematical literature, which possibly could be broadly interpreted to include theoretical physics papers. However without a link or proper citation, it's hard to gauge how relevant your proposed example is. Perhaps a citation of the paper (in other literature) would serve this purpose.
– hardmath
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
There is a certain Dr. Bagger who is active in Theoretical Physics (quite mathematical, at least to us experimentalists). He often works in collaboration with others and since his name is quite near the beginning of the alphabet, his citations lead to a witty coincidence (probably funnier for British people...).
From page 181 of https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/0203079.pdf
There is a certain Dr. Bagger who is active in Theoretical Physics (quite mathematical, at least to us experimentalists). He often works in collaboration with others and since his name is quite near the beginning of the alphabet, his citations lead to a witty coincidence (probably funnier for British people...).
From page 181 of https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/0203079.pdf
edited yesterday
community wiki
Oscar Bravo
1
The Question asks about mathematical literature, which possibly could be broadly interpreted to include theoretical physics papers. However without a link or proper citation, it's hard to gauge how relevant your proposed example is. Perhaps a citation of the paper (in other literature) would serve this purpose.
– hardmath
yesterday
add a comment |
1
The Question asks about mathematical literature, which possibly could be broadly interpreted to include theoretical physics papers. However without a link or proper citation, it's hard to gauge how relevant your proposed example is. Perhaps a citation of the paper (in other literature) would serve this purpose.
– hardmath
yesterday
1
1
The Question asks about mathematical literature, which possibly could be broadly interpreted to include theoretical physics papers. However without a link or proper citation, it's hard to gauge how relevant your proposed example is. Perhaps a citation of the paper (in other literature) would serve this purpose.
– hardmath
yesterday
The Question asks about mathematical literature, which possibly could be broadly interpreted to include theoretical physics papers. However without a link or proper citation, it's hard to gauge how relevant your proposed example is. Perhaps a citation of the paper (in other literature) would serve this purpose.
– hardmath
yesterday
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
I'm currently reading this paper https://arxiv.org/abs/1207.4750 (which, admittedly is physics not math) on page 5 they are describing a general procedure so they just give an example of an action which they denote as
$$S_{ex}$$
S because that is the traditional way of denoting an action, and ex because it's just a generic example that they trying to use
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
I'm currently reading this paper https://arxiv.org/abs/1207.4750 (which, admittedly is physics not math) on page 5 they are describing a general procedure so they just give an example of an action which they denote as
$$S_{ex}$$
S because that is the traditional way of denoting an action, and ex because it's just a generic example that they trying to use
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
I'm currently reading this paper https://arxiv.org/abs/1207.4750 (which, admittedly is physics not math) on page 5 they are describing a general procedure so they just give an example of an action which they denote as
$$S_{ex}$$
S because that is the traditional way of denoting an action, and ex because it's just a generic example that they trying to use
I'm currently reading this paper https://arxiv.org/abs/1207.4750 (which, admittedly is physics not math) on page 5 they are describing a general procedure so they just give an example of an action which they denote as
$$S_{ex}$$
S because that is the traditional way of denoting an action, and ex because it's just a generic example that they trying to use
answered 13 hours ago
community wiki
yankyl
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
This happend digital electronic class. Teacher was explaining some circuit that she drawn on blackboard. Output was Q0 to Q7, every time she say Q2 we were chuckling. It took her some time to realize that Q2 (pronounced kudwa) is very similar to word kurwa (fuck or bitch, depend on context).
This is in Poland?
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
This happend digital electronic class. Teacher was explaining some circuit that she drawn on blackboard. Output was Q0 to Q7, every time she say Q2 we were chuckling. It took her some time to realize that Q2 (pronounced kudwa) is very similar to word kurwa (fuck or bitch, depend on context).
This is in Poland?
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
This happend digital electronic class. Teacher was explaining some circuit that she drawn on blackboard. Output was Q0 to Q7, every time she say Q2 we were chuckling. It took her some time to realize that Q2 (pronounced kudwa) is very similar to word kurwa (fuck or bitch, depend on context).
This happend digital electronic class. Teacher was explaining some circuit that she drawn on blackboard. Output was Q0 to Q7, every time she say Q2 we were chuckling. It took her some time to realize that Q2 (pronounced kudwa) is very similar to word kurwa (fuck or bitch, depend on context).
answered yesterday
community wiki
lko
This is in Poland?
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
This is in Poland?
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
This is in Poland?
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
This is in Poland?
– Akiva Weinberger
5 hours ago
add a comment |
10
such an expression can arise if $f$ is uniformly continuous on a compact set $K$
– mathworker21
yesterday
18
I've seen a photo of a "$p in mathbb{N}$ is" on a blackboard. Not having the context, I don't know whether it was a proper accident...
– darij grinberg
yesterday
11
Said cross-cap. Freud would be proud.
– AccidentalFourierTransform
yesterday
9
There is always the Cox-Zucker Machine. However, I have heard that this was not entirely accidental...
– Jair Taylor
yesterday
13
Many math publications contain the substring
anal
, though not as a complete word. A colleague of mine becomes very anxious when we're sitting at his desk and he has to google something containing "analysis". He types "ysis" fast enough so that the history doesn't appear.– Eric Duminil
yesterday