The value of love, according to Bob Dylan

In honor of Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday, here is a Dylan-derived mathematical study about the value of love. We originally published it in vol 1, no. 5 of the Annals of Improbable Research (thanks to investigator Lynne Cohen for suggesting it re-appear today). Click on the link to download the entire study, which begins:

The Value of Love, Using the Dylan Model

by Joseph Cliburn, Andrew Russ, Tiny Montgomery  and Zeke de Cork

Starting from a statement  brought home by Bob Dylan [1965a] we estimate the  value  of Love using basic algebra of need [Mottram, 1965], perhaps some calculus, maybe a bit of the geometry of innocence [Dylan, 1965f], and a lot of wishful  thinking.

The Limits of Love

We  begin with the following assertion by Dylan [1965a]:

(Love – 0)  /  No Limit  (1)

using the expression on the record label in preference to the statement on the back cover [1965b], and taking a cue from the author ‘s statement that it  is a fraction [1965c]….