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Archive for May, 2015

So it occurred to me to wonder about the migration and prevalence of names in history.

It’s a well known phenomenon that (for example) names like Harry and Hermione increased in popularity as a result of the Potter books, and the prevalence of the name Adolf plummeted as of about 70 years ago.

Did this happen in other historical contexts? Did the name Louis see lower popularity in France around 1789? Did the effects spread further than France, to Luis in Spain and Luigi in Italy?

Were there more Abrahams born in 1865 in the USA than 1855? And in perhaps a more complex case, did George become more or less popular around 1776?

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You know you’re putting a lot of effort into something when it causes you to blaspheme in Medieval Latin.

Ok, scratch that.

You know you’re a giant nerd when you CAN, while putting a lot of effort into something, blaspheme in Medieval Latin.

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Eppur Si Muove

You know, you can cut the NASA budget item for earth science, and you can cut the NSF budget item for geoscience, and you can forbid your underlings to use phrases like ‘climate change’… But none of that makes it any less real.

If you don’t like all these studies showing that it’s real, then get the fuck on board with the firmly established data so that we don’t have to keep shoving more research in front of you, instead of standing there like a recalcitrant toddler with his fingers in his ears.

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