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How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

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Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#21
This is most amazing when you click into the study[0] and see the supporting materials linked to at the bottom like a .mov of a rotating 3d model of wombat poop[1]

[0]https://pubs.rsc.org/sm/article-abstract/17/3/475/708006/Int...

[1]https://pubs.rsc.org/sm/article-supplement/708006/mov/d0sm01...

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#23

A bit of a tangent but I've read this phrase almost verbatim in another article[1] today: > "This study is really good," says Sunghwan Jung, a biophysicist at Cornell University who studies the mechanics of animal movements and was not involved with the research. It shows, he says, that the guts of these animals "are very special." The other article [1] quote: > It’s “an impressive step,” said Jack Szostak (opens a n…

I think this is just a way of breaking up the quote that adds attribution in the middle. Probably a common reporting phrasing more so than an LLM invention (Or maybe it's a real quote in both cases, but they used an LLM to write parts of the article, just making sure the quotes are correct in the end).

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#24

A bit of a tangent but I've read this phrase almost verbatim in another article[1] today: > "This study is really good," says Sunghwan Jung, a biophysicist at Cornell University who studies the mechanics of animal movements and was not involved with the research. It shows, he says, that the guts of these animals "are very special." The other article [1] quote: > It’s “an impressive step,” said Jack Szostak (opens a n…

Yes, good science writing almost always gets an opinion from someone not involved in the research for the article. I would guess varying definitions of "not involved" depending on the repute of the publication.

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#26

If someone hasn't submitted this for an Ig Nobel, it would be a calamity.

Does the ignoble exist for anything else besides making fun of easy targets, like a bunch of sniveling teenagers?

Yes.

   Its aim is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think".
~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ig_Nobel_Prize

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#28

If someone hasn't submitted this for an Ig Nobel, it would be a calamity.

Does the ignoble exist for anything else besides making fun of easy targets, like a bunch of sniveling teenagers?

Never have I considered the ignoble to be making fun of anyone. It is recognizing real, if bizarre, research. Science asking some real questions that make you appreciate the wonder of the universe.

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the ignoble exist for anything else besides making fun of easy targets, like a bunch of sniveling teenagers?

Never have I considered the ignoble to be making fun of anyone. It is recognizing real, if bizarre, research. Science asking some real questions that make you appreciate the wonder of the universe.

Interesting. Somehow I never see people referencing them in this spirit, but that may be more on those people than on the price itself, perhaps.
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