Hello People!
I have got myself a new blog: Ink Scrawl. I will be posting henceforth to that blog.
The Url for Ink Scrawl: http://inkscrawl.blogspot.com/
See you there.
Friday, January 07, 2005
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Where do all the Jokes Come From?
I came across an interesting science fiction short story Jokester, by Isaac Asimov in Isaac Asimov -- The Complete Short Stories, Volume I. In the story, a humongous computer -- the Multivac -- explains why jokes are funny.
I found the story interesting for another reason. In it, the central character, Grand Master Noel Meyerhof asks Multivac a question -- "Where do all the jokes come from?"
Meyerhof claims to know (and tell) thousands of jokes, yet he has never made up one. He has either heard or read the jokes and then merely repeated them. And he finds that none of his sources of hearing or reading have made up the jokes either. They, like him, have merely embellished the jokes and contributed by (re)telling them. He has never met anyone who has constructed a joke. He has, of course, met many who have made original puns but none of the puns provoke laughter. All puns either make you smile or groan but don't induce the same kind of laughter that a (unoriginal and retold) joke does. And so he wonders, who makes up the jokes?
Come to think of it -- I too haven't met any person who has claimed to have made a joke. Most of the jokes that I know are variations of a few very recognizable themes -- with only the setting and the characters changing in the retelling. A joke is always "a good one that I heard the other day" or "a funny email forward" or a "good SMS that was sent by a friend." Have you come across a person who has claimed to have constructed a totally original joke?
In the story, the Multivac studies many jokes for patterns, considers all the data and comes up with an answer.
An answer that has a catastrophic effect on humanity.
I am not revealing the answer. Get hold of Isaac Asimov's short stories and find out for yourself.
But, where do all the jokes come from? Do you know?
I found the story interesting for another reason. In it, the central character, Grand Master Noel Meyerhof asks Multivac a question -- "Where do all the jokes come from?"
Meyerhof claims to know (and tell) thousands of jokes, yet he has never made up one. He has either heard or read the jokes and then merely repeated them. And he finds that none of his sources of hearing or reading have made up the jokes either. They, like him, have merely embellished the jokes and contributed by (re)telling them. He has never met anyone who has constructed a joke. He has, of course, met many who have made original puns but none of the puns provoke laughter. All puns either make you smile or groan but don't induce the same kind of laughter that a (unoriginal and retold) joke does. And so he wonders, who makes up the jokes?
Come to think of it -- I too haven't met any person who has claimed to have made a joke. Most of the jokes that I know are variations of a few very recognizable themes -- with only the setting and the characters changing in the retelling. A joke is always "a good one that I heard the other day" or "a funny email forward" or a "good SMS that was sent by a friend." Have you come across a person who has claimed to have constructed a totally original joke?
In the story, the Multivac studies many jokes for patterns, considers all the data and comes up with an answer.
An answer that has a catastrophic effect on humanity.
I am not revealing the answer. Get hold of Isaac Asimov's short stories and find out for yourself.
But, where do all the jokes come from? Do you know?
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Email -- Improving Your Narrative skills
A new study by a research team in the Netherlands, suggests that e-mail's hybrid nature -- combining talking and writing -- has its own benefits.
The study, to be published in the forthcoming edition of the International Journal of Educational Research is challenging the belief that e-mail and text messaging only have a negative impact on writing skills, reports canada.com.
I wonder about the impact that such "natural writing" will have on writing skills over a period of time? Will it mean the end of grammar and the art of writing as we know it today? While natural writing may ease personal expression, will it be effective when communicating with a large number of people and across geographies?
"You could say the writing becomes more sloppy, but you could say it becomes more natural. They tell stories, and are motivated because they have a real audience. They are expressing themselves."
-- Bregje de Vries, lead researcher, University of Twente.
The study, to be published in the forthcoming edition of the International Journal of Educational Research is challenging the belief that e-mail and text messaging only have a negative impact on writing skills, reports canada.com.
I wonder about the impact that such "natural writing" will have on writing skills over a period of time? Will it mean the end of grammar and the art of writing as we know it today? While natural writing may ease personal expression, will it be effective when communicating with a large number of people and across geographies?
SMSing while you Drive -- the Coming of the Multitaskers
I came across this (slightly old) post on Textually.org -- a blog that "covers the latest news on texting or short messaging (SMS) and multimedia messaging (MMS)" that talked about how a part of our coming generations might be successful multitaskers. The post quotes a study by Pew that reports that many youngsters today surf the web or play games while they use the instant messenger. Some even watch TV.
Does this mean that soon we will have a generation that will surf the web, text message, and maybe drive a car at the same time?
Does this mean that soon we will have a generation that will surf the web, text message, and maybe drive a car at the same time?
Tsunami Interactive Feature -- Asia's Deadly Waves.
Do Animals Possess a Sixth Sense?
The tsunami that hit south-east Asia killed about 24,000 people in Sri Lanka. Surprisingly no dead animals were found.
Though the tsunami waters entered the Yala National Park, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve, not a single dead elephant or leopard was found.
How did these animals escape the tsunami? Do they possess a sixth sense?
Though the tsunami waters entered the Yala National Park, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve, not a single dead elephant or leopard was found.
How did these animals escape the tsunami? Do they possess a sixth sense?
Monday, January 03, 2005
The Longest Email Address in the Whole Wide World
The world's longest alphabetical email address is now offered for free.
http://www.abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
abcdefghijk.com/ is the longest alphabetical domain name in the entire world and email addresses on it are offered by Appwalk.com Technologies, Canada as a part of a new online initiative that encourages weird, and innovative ideas to be developed into online presence and services.
The blurb on the site lists the advantages of having the longest email address in the world:
Getting yourself one?
http://www.abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
abcdefghijk.com/ is the longest alphabetical domain name in the entire world and email addresses on it are offered by Appwalk.com Technologies, Canada as a part of a new online initiative that encourages weird, and innovative ideas to be developed into online presence and services.
The blurb on the site lists the advantages of having the longest email address in the world:
- People cannot remember your email address
Companies think that your email address is fake
Webforms do not work with your email
The only email address that would allow you to tease your friends for not being able to remember your email address!
Getting yourself one?
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