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Is this question acceptable?: How connected are you?

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    • CommentAuthortheojf
    • CommentTimeJul 29th 2010 edited
     

    I'm dubious that the question How connected are you? is appropriate as written. On the one hand, it's a wonderful game for a social networking site for mathematicians. On the other hand, I don't particularly care to participate in such a site. On the third hand, I can simply avoid participating in this post. On the fourth hand (and I'm rapidly running out), to the extent this has anything to do with research, it seems that OP is using MO more as a way to reach a large community of mathematicians than to ask a mathematics-research question. On my fifth and last hand, the question has received 12 up votes, and so clearly the question is "of interest to mathematicians".

    I have left a comment there directing discussion here. I have also voted to close, but don't feel strongly: if the question is closed, but if the discussion explains why it should not have been, I'll happily vote to reopen.

  2.  

    I agree with Theo. The question, while nicely written, looks like a survey of non-technical matters, and I think such questions were closed before. In fact, I suspect that if the OP was unknown(google), the question would have been closed by now. If we leave the question, it will reinforce the perception of double standard, or that MO is run by an OBN.

    • CommentAuthorYemon Choi
    • CommentTimeJul 29th 2010
     

    I am not wholly decided here, having only quickly looked over the question, but Hailong's last two sentences ring very true to me. It really does feel like an interesting blog post.

    That said, if we're talking about double standards, I'd like to tentatively mutter "maths puzzles at dinner parties rassen frassen" ;-)

  4.  

    I can assure you that the OBN (assuming it exists) does not have a unified position regarding puzzles at dinner.

  5.  
    Is the OBN some kind of obstetrician-nephrologist?
  6.  

    @Eric, and in case your question was serious (otherwise, please ignore): OBN = Old Boy Network.

    • CommentAuthorYemon Choi
    • CommentTimeJul 30th 2010 edited
     

    Off topic, but: in the British magazine Private Eye, for several years OBN = "Order of the Brown Nose", satirizing the likes of OBE, KBE and all that.

  8.  

    Even further off topic: this reminds me about the dialogue in Yes, minister (the BBC series) where Bernard explains to Jim Hacker about CMG (="Call me God"), KCMG (="Kindly call me God") and GCMG (="God calls me God"). [For those not in the UK, these are titles of the Order of St Michael and St George.]

  9.  

    +1 Jose! I've been trying to get quotes from that in to my papers recently ...

  10.  

    Andrew, good luck! If you manage to get "they don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits" into one of your papers, let me know :)

  11.  
    @Jose: My suggestion was a joke, but I didn't know what it actually meant, either, so thanks. An obstetrician-phrenologist may have been more fun, but is not in keeping with the acronym.

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