Bracketology, Scientist-style

For years Dave and I have enjoyed watching basketball during the NCAA tournament in March.  This started about 25 years ago, when Dave was in the hospital during March for several consecutive years for cancer surgery, and the games we a bit of distraction.  Since then we fill out brackets, and to greater or lesser extents watch and enjoy the games. 

A dear friend, a scientist at a prestigious institution out East, shared his office bracket rules with us, and it had me laughing-- it was athletic competition the PhD scientist way.  I just had to share a small section of their two-page scoring instructions:

"There will be bonus points for picking upsets...Upset bonus points will be awarded according to the following formula:
0.2 * (difference in seeds) for differences > 0
For example, a 14-seed beating a 3-seed in the first round would net you 0.2 * (14-3) = 2.2 upset bonus points...
To discourage random picking of upsets (gaming the system) points will be lost for each game picked incorrectly. ..Those who choose wisely can still probably game the system, but there will be a penalty if you choose poorly...."

What seems like a perverse math word problem to me is fun for these guys.  I guess it just goes to prove the old adage that variety is the spice of life.  Or maybe the one that says truth is stranger than fiction.  I'm not quite sure which...

LAPD at its finest

I have often discussed here the phenomenon of LAPD (Los Alamos Personality Disorder).  Whether it is returning library books as you are being evacuated due to a raging wildfire, or nicknaming your grandchild Femto, it comes with the territory of this quirky, highly-educated, science-saturated place.  And I find it rather endearing most of the time.

Here in White Rock, we have what is affectionately known as "the white rock".  It sits prominently on the busiest corner in town (where Route 4 meets Rover Blvd), and what started as a landscaping statement has become a sort of message board, constantly being painted by citizens.  Sometimes it has a message like the one pictured here, or is simply art-work, but more often it has a birthday or anniversary wish.  My children have helped to paint it for various occasions, and Tim and Nikki's engagement was announced here.  That is a sweet little community ritual, and there is nothing particularly odd about it.

But here is where the LAPD comes in.  A local scientist began to wonder exactly how thick the paint is on this rock after 40 years of painting.  He found the surface of the rock to be rubbery and soft, and was worried that the rock was somehow deteriorating. So he did an experiment.  He actually took a core sample from the rock, then patched his hole, sealed the core with epoxy, cut it in half, and found 5.5 inches of paint on top.  When asked why he did this, he replied that it is the nature of Los Alamos people to wonder what is inside things and to find out.

Ain't it the truth?! Remember this is the place where, after I had a radioactive injection for cancer treatment, my neighbor loaned me his Geiger counter to track the movement of the material in my body.

Thanks, fellow LAPD observer, B.F. (who is my bff) for the info. And if you want a little taste of LAPD, watch the Sy-Fy channel show Eureka. It's not a great show, but it is populated with people who are infected with LAPD, and as such, I have a bit of affection for it.