Comments on: Theoretical Physics Goes Corporate?

By: Charm &c. » Blog Archive » Hit-and-run III

Charm &c. » Blog Archive » Hit-and-run III — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 19:38:50 +0000

[...] Having kept my eyes open for “casual physics references in popular culture” since this Cosmic Variance post, I am pleased to report a sighting. The Guardian, in an article on death metal, says of the band Amputated: Their sound is intense and animalistic. If scientists at Cern’s particle accelerator were to shoot a pig rather than protons round their 27km facility it might sound like the Bristol band’s lead singer. [...]

By: Life in physics and nearby » Being an equation-writer-for-hire

Life in physics and nearby » Being an equation-writer-for-hire — Mon, 15 May 2006 18:08:15 +0000

[...] I like reading phyiscs blogs. People talk about different things, some of them are interesting, some are not — real life, right? Here is the post I recently read in one of my favorite blogs, Cosmic Variance: it is called "Theoretical Physics Goes Corporate." One of the points that they raise in that post is that big corporations are starting to realize the power of mathematical equations as a commercial tool — it attracts customers! One of the ads that Clifford Johnson (one of the four CV contributers) has in mind is this: [...]

By: John Branch

John Branch — Sun, 14 May 2006 15:09:09 +0000

I too think Lisa Randall is cool, and I’d be glad to see her appear in an ad, but I’m actually glad this one isn’t using her. Its focus is on the idea (equations and complicated brainwork as a component of engineering invention), not on the person, so she’d be wasted in this presentation. Her image (i.e., her face) isn’t yet familiar enough for the kind of ad that Apple Computer had going for a while that allied the slogan “Think different” with estimable, recognizable persons such as Einstein, Gandhi, and Amelia Earhart. But I think she may be cool enough for an American Express ad; some of the people in those have familiar faces (Kate Winslet), some have names that most of us know (M. Night Shyamalan), but the concept, I think, is to link an accomplished person with the credit card. There’s an exchange of prestige going on in those ads–if you know the person, AmEx gains something from the association, and if you don’t, the fact of their appearing in the ad grants them some status and helps familiarize you with their face, their name, their work. I had no idea what M. Night Shyamalan looked like until AmEx showed me. I’m ready to see Lisa Randall join their company, and if not now, maybe in five or 10 years.

By the way, I think I discovered Cosmic Variance because a New York Times article on her mentioned a discussion here as to whether she resembles Jodi Foster. (Which so far I haven’t gotten around to looking up.)

To indulge in a spot of self-promotion, I have a kind of remixed picture of Lisa Randall at Flickr. I’m not that happy with it now, but it’s got a hint of equations on a blackboard.

By: Moshe

Moshe — Sun, 14 May 2006 01:30:28 +0000

Speaking of the PI, they have those wonderful concerts in the main lecture hall (where last year’s summer school took place), and the blackboard is especially decorated with neat-looking equations (or maybe just not erased before the concert). It works very well with string quartets.

By: Physics goes Corporate at hey blinkin

Physics goes Corporate at hey blinkin — Sat, 13 May 2006 22:27:33 +0000

[...] Cosmic Variance has a nice article up on the use of theoretical physics to attract attention to advertisements.Â Like the article’s author, I was also hoping the mystery woman writing equations on a blackboard for an SUV ad would turn out to be Lisa Randall, simply because she’s that cool (she came and spoke here as part of a guest lectureship series christening the College of Science and Mathematics’ new auditorium.. I found leaving for my evening helldesk shift very difficult). [...]

By: blinkin

blinkin — Sat, 13 May 2006 22:11:05 +0000

Too bad. I was hobing it was Lisa Randall as well. She came and spoke at $local_university last year, promoting her book on string theory. I had to tear myself away in order to make the beginning of my evening shift as a helldesk operator…

Also, your blog is awesome guys. I’ve been reading it for a week now (caught the link on one of Seed’s Zeitgeist digests), and have been entertained, educated, and generally found your posts to be generally enjoyable.

-blinkin the misanthropic it gremlin

By: Plato

Plato — Sat, 13 May 2006 21:54:05 +0000

…a script writer, with an attitude.

Wonderful

By: Clifford

Clifford — Sat, 13 May 2006 21:48:13 +0000

JoAnne… are you saying that Michael does not read the blog?!! I’m shocked. What’ve you been doing all this time…? Go get him reading!

Plato… Precisely.

-cvj

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Sat, 13 May 2006 21:46:30 +0000

Alexey: Excellent! You go dude! Please write Michael (Peskin) and tell him the story – he found the ad in the Wall Street Journal and was tickled pink (and terribly curious about its background).

By: Plato

Plato — Sat, 13 May 2006 21:43:31 +0000

Clifford.

The equation…?

A personal perogative of course?:) Just trying to operate within the contraints