Improbable Research

The Nov/Dec 2008 issue (vol. 14, no. 6) of the magazine (the Annals of Improbable Research) just went out. It’s the annual Ig Nobel Prize issue, with copious coverage and lots of photos of the new Ig Nobel Prize winners, the ceremony, the lectures, the mini-opera, and more. Click on the magazine cover (below) to:

• Subscribe to the paper version (nicest!), or
• Buy a hi-res PDF version (most digitally spiffy!), or
• Download a free low-res PDF version (cheesiest!)

Mel says it’s swell.

by Jeremy Gorman Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

One day when I was wondering just what was wrong with me,
I thought to ask some experts in what’s called psychology.
Beginning with the founders of the psychologic arts,
I went to Wundt and Titchener, who broke me into parts.

John Dewey proved more functional, and Peirce was quite pragmatic,
but Ebbinghaus’s learning curve was steep as stairs-to-attic.
I asked Will James, “How much to tell me what is best for me?”
He told me, “You must give yourself.” Wow. Quite the session fee.

John Watson soon got wind of this, and, not to be outdone,
said “Give to me a dozen kids.” I had not even one!
And so I went to Festinger, who told me my cognition
was dissonant, though Erikson did not take that position.

A crisis of identity was what he said I had.
And so I asked, “What therapy will make my mind less mad?”
Carl Rogers spoke. “Why, client-centered! Best thing ever tried!”
I then asked Perls. “Gestalt,” he said. “Gesundheit,” I replied….

(That’s an excerpt from the poem “37 Therapists,” by Jeremy Gorman, Published in AIR 14:5.)

Violent chess claymation, at least in the form of this brief video, is a treat for philosophers, music enthusiasts, chess players, and gentle violence lovers alike.

(Thanks to investigator Mason Porter for bringing this to our attention.)

Investigator Val Eklund writes:

Do you now someone whose reasoning is not quite on target? The Journal of Approximate Reasoning (which you mentioned in mini-AIR) may be just what they need. And speaking of “not quite on target,” that journal is going to publish a study that explores a notoriously hit-or-miss activity:

“A closer look at the Russian roulette problem,” Li-Bo Li, Shu-Hong He, Shu Li, Jie-Hong Xu, Li-Lin Rao.

A snack can also be contraceptive — failure to appreciate this fact may be the unspoken story behind a December 24, 2008 Bloomberg news report:

FDA: Diet Coke Plus violates rules

Coca-Cola Company’s claims that Diet Coke Plus contains vitamins and minerals violate US regulations, the Food and Drug Administration said in a letter to the world’s largest soft-drink maker. Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta, should “take prompt action to correct these violations,” according to the letter posted yesterday on the FDA’s website. The company disagreed with the finding.

Diet Coke Plus contains vitamins and minerals, including 10 percent of the recommended daily value for magnesium and 15 percent for vitamin B12.

“The FDA does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages,” the agency said.

The FDA (The U.S. Food and Drug Administration) ignores the discovery by Dr. Deborah J. Anderson and her colleagues that Coca-Cola is a spermicide (though it is not the most effective or reliable contraceptive on the market). Dr. Anderson et al were honored with a 2008 Ig Nobel Prize, and several days ago published a followup study in the BMJ. Click here for details, and to watch part of her talk at the 2008 Ig Informal Lectures.