Marc Abrahams's Blog, page 103

World Standards Day: USA almost only slightly out of whack

Most years, World Standards Day occurs in the USA on a different day than it does in other countries. This year, 2020, that tradition continues.

Rather than celebrate 2020’s World Standards Day on the same day (October 14) as other countries, the USA will celebrate World Standards day on five (5) different days, none of which quite overlaps with the world’s World Standards Day.

American World Standards Weeks is not that far off from the World Standards standard. Some of America’s days are less than a week distant from the world’s World Standards Day.

And be it noted that America’s World Standards Week establishes the principle that a week is five (5) days long.

Here is the official American announcement:

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has announced dates for World Standards Week 2020, which will be held October 19–23

“I Do Not Like Their Compound Eyes”– an Ig Nobel Prize favorite moment

This historic Ig Nobel Favorite Moment video stars Nailah Robinson, who helped organize many Ig Nobel Prize ceremonies. She tells here of the very first Ig Nobel opera.

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK.

The 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will be webcast September 17, 2020 at www.improbable.com.

Coordinator, Narrator, & Typist: Seth Gliksman

8 Days Until…

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK.

Kasian Bhanganada, Tu Chayavatana, Chumporn Pongnumkul, Anunt Tonmukayakul, Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, Krit Komaratat, and Henry Wilde were awarded the Ig Nobel in Public Health in 2013 for groundbreaking research in the fields of both penile amputation and reasons to be afraid of ducks.

This is a glimpse from a past ceremony, tune in to see what this year will bring.

The 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will be webcast September 17, 2020 at www.improbable.com

“Swan Song with Domos”– an Ig Nobel Prize favorite moment

This historic Ig Nobel Favorite Moment video stars Dr. Nakamats, who won an Ig Nobel Nutrition Prize for photographing and retrospectively analyzing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and counting), and who returned to the ceremony years later to sing his Swan Song accompanied by the Ig Nobel minordomos.

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK.

And to watch it one more time, but in Japanese:

The 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will be webcast September 17, 2020 at www.improbable.com.

Coordinator, Narrator, & Typist: Seth Gliksman

9 Days Until…

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK.

In 2007, software engineer Doug Zongker was tapped to be a keynote speaker for the 17th First Annual Ig Nobel Ceremony. The theme that year was “chicken”.

This is a glimpse from a past ceremony, tune in to see what this year will bring.

The 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will be webcast September 17, 2020 at www.improbable.com

“Unofficial Winning Speech Done in Japan”– an Ig Nobel Prize favorite moment

This historic Ig Nobel Favorite Moment video stars Kiyoshi Furusawa, who helped organize many Ig Nobel Prize events in Japan.

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK.

And if you’d like the same thing in Japanese, see below:

The 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will be webcast September 17, 2020 at www.improbable.com.

Coordinator, Narrator, & Typist: Seth Gliksman

10 Days Until…

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK.

This Ig Nobel moment takes place at the 2000 First Annual Ig Nobel Ceremony in the heat of a night littered with intelligence debates. What begins humbly ends in uproarious applause as engineer Dean Kamen faces off against three Nobel laureates for the ultimate prize—bragging rights. Though the crowd made their choice upon Kamen’s demonstration of the iBOT, the laureates were both participants and scorers of the round and deemed themselves the winners, a contentious decision indeed.

This is a glimpse from a past ceremony, tune in to see what this year will bring.

The 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will be webcast September 17, 2020 at www.improbable.com

Taking Laughter Seriously at the Supreme Court [study update]

Studies into possible implications of laughter episodes at the US Supreme Court were initiated in 2005 by Professor Jay D. Wexler (Boston University School of Law) who was the first to calculate the ‘Laughter Episodes Instigated Per Argument Average’ (LEIPAA) from the records of court proceedings.

Details here in a 2016 Improbable Article.

Then, in 2019, Professor Tonja Jacobi (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law) and Professor Matthew Sag (Loyola University Chicago School of Law) took the matter further with another study which looked (amongst other things) at laughter over time initiated by justices and advocates, per five thousand words (1955 – 2015).

“The performative nature of courtroom humor is apparent from the uneven distribution of judicial jokes, jests, and jibes. The Justices overwhelmingly direct their most humorous comments at the advocates with whom they disagree, the advocates who are losing, and novice advocates.”

With the finding that the number of (justice initiated) laughter episodes in a hearing can be used to predict the outcome of the case.

“Building on prior work, we show that laughter in the courtroom is yet another aspect of judicial behavior that can be used to predict cases before Justices have even voted.”

See: Taking Laughter Seriously at the Supreme Court  Vanderbilt Law Review, Vol 72, No.5, 1423 (2019)

Research research by Martin Gardiner

11 Days Until…

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK.

This Ig Nobel moment takes place at the 2001 First Annual Ig Nobel Ceremony when  Chittaranjan Andrade and B.S. Srihari of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences were awarded an Ig Nobel in Public Health for their research into the proclivity of children to pick their nose. 

This is a glimpse from a past ceremony, tune in to see what this year will bring.

The 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will be webcast September 17, 2020 at www.improbable.com

“I Wore an Old Bearskin Rug”– an Ig Nobel Prize favorite moment

This historic Ig Nobel Favorite Moment video stars Rob Sanders, who helped organize many Ig Nobel Prize ceremonies.

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK.

The 30th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will be webcast September 17, 2020 at www.improbable.com.

Coordinator, Narrator, & Typist: Seth Gliksman