Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more
An irreducibly simple model
A COLLEAGUE forwards a paper with a most wonderful title: 鈥淲hy models run hot: results from an irreducibly simple climate model鈥� (). The paper鈥檚 authors are Christopher Monckton, with whom we have history; Willie Soon, also well known for his belief that climate change is nothing to do with us; David Legates; and William Briggs.
We had barely reached the end of the title when it occurred to us to take an information-theoretic approach. An 鈥渋rreducibly simple model鈥� would be one that is encoded by one bit of data. That one bit could represent your preconception of what the model鈥檚 output should be 鈥� 鈥渢rue鈥� or 鈥渇alse鈥�: take your pick.
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The paper appears in Science Bulletin, whose website address is 鈥� a choice the publishers may wish to reconsider.
Alex Delimata sent an unusual tip for comet-spotters: in November 2013, Astronomy Ireland declared that comet ISON was 鈥渁lready visible to the naked in morning skies鈥�
Onanistic statistics
NEVERTHELESS, we read the paper promising an 鈥渋rreducibly simple climate model鈥� noted above. It states that its model 鈥� based on an equation with eight parameters and variables 鈥� is 鈥渄esigned to empower even non-specialists to research the question how much global warming we may cause鈥�.
This reminds us of missives we receive from people claiming to have found that the world isn鈥檛 warming at all, by manipulating raw data in spreadsheets. And that reminds us that when we last mentioned that this activity has been called 鈥渕athturbation鈥� (21 January 2012) we omitted to credit the sharp Open Mind blogger at .
What an elephant weighs where
SLIGHTLY closer to the Earth we know and love, readers continue to be inspired by the saga of plucky little lander Philae, which as we write is still shivering in a dark corner of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Tim Stevenson points to something we missed in another publication鈥檚 description of the cute lander having the same weight as a newborn elephant (6 December 2014). 鈥淧hilae is on 67P and all known elephants are on Earth,鈥� Tim observes. Gravity on 67P is somewhat weaker than on Earth, wherein lay the lander鈥檚 challenge. So is it fair, Tim asks, to deduce that the mass of Philae 鈥渋s of the order of several tens of thousands of metric tons?鈥�
Frank Cross spotted a less cuddly metaphor. Fortunately for our sanity it specified that the mass of the comet, not its weight, is 鈥渁bout 150,000 aircraft carriers鈥�. Would that, Frank asks, be the British vessel that has no aircraft to carry, or another one in the news?
Nano-likes
鈥淪HOCK鈥� was John Rowlands鈥檚 reaction to how the European Space Agency reported image ratings given by visitors to its website. The images were from the Rosetta craft, which is orbiting comet 67P, and when John looked, one image was presented with a rating of 4.81818181818182 out of 5 with 鈥�11 votes cast鈥�.
鈥淎re there now so many official websites competing for user ratings,鈥� John asks, 鈥渢hat we鈥檒l end up with femtoratings?鈥� Later the same day, when we got a moment to visit , someone at ESA had remembered to round it off to 4.8. Well done!
Features every crayon in box
THINKING of promotion, we are getting inured to reading tech jargon clich茅s. Occasionally, however, a press release manages to startle us back to awareness. Thus did telecoms company O2/Telefonica, hailing a device that combines 鈥淕SM 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a pedometer and accelerometer鈥� is voice controlled鈥� comes complete with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter鈥︹�� It 鈥渢ook a team of 35 engineers two and a half years to build鈥�.
Nina Bibby, marketing director, goes on: 鈥淢usic and technology are in O2鈥檚 DNA, which is why we鈥檙e so excited to be giving O2 customers the opportunity to exclusively get their hands on the Puls in the UK鈥� By combining cutting edge technology with music and fashion, the Puls has the power to revolutionise wearable technology.鈥�
The list of features isn鈥檛 that unusual. But 鈥� it鈥檚 in their DNA? That鈥檚 more intimate than wearable, surely?
Comet out of bounds
RETURNING to the subject of comets, Martin Stuart observed this publication reporting that Comet Lovejoy 鈥渨on鈥檛 return to the solar system for 8000 years鈥� (17 January, p 7). He understands 鈥渢he solar system鈥� to mean 鈥渢he sun and everything orbiting it, including comets鈥�.
So: 鈥淲here is it going? How does it get back again?鈥� And, crucially, 鈥渨ho is helping it with the orbital dynamics?鈥�
Obviously, Martin surmises, the answer is 鈥渁liens鈥�. But 鈥渉ow did they let this story get out?鈥�
A widely-published professor
FINALLY, the answer to the solar-system conundrum above may be supplied by G谩sp谩r Bakos. Marc Smith-Evans notes that, according to a reputable weekly science magazine, this researcher 鈥渉as published findings on 56 planets鈥� (10 January, p 8). The impression was thereby given that Bakos had not only found Earth-like planets, but had located publishing houses on them 鈥� a more significant first for Princeton University鈥檚 research impact ratings than the piece made explicit.