Much can be learned from a calculating study of cartoon animals behaving in ways that are natural to them. Here is a new example: “Tauberian identities and the connection to Wile E. Coyote physics,” Roberto Camassa and Richard M. McLaughlin, arXiv:2304.06127, 2023. (Thank to Mason Porter for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at […]
“Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) has well-known links with humor appreciation, such as enjoying jokes that target deviant groups, but less is known about RWA and creative humor production – coming up with funny ideas oneself.” To test the ground, a research team from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of Pennsylvania, US, […]
SpongeBob SquarePants first made a public appearance in 1999, but it took quite some time for the emergence of a scholarly work which directly cited the character as a primary focus for study. This one, from 2005, is a likely candidate as the first : ■ A More Porous Postmodernity: Absurdity, Politics, Consumerism and the Cultural […]
Anthropologists, psychologists, and other ists can study these two advertisements for clues about the human condition: 1. Do It Yourself Cartoon Kit [background]: [vimeo]76495913[/vimeo] 2. PowerPencils (thanks to investigator Vaughn Tan for bringing this to our attention) [background]: BONUS: Bob Godfrey’s Do-It-Yourself Animation Show: Terry Gilliam BONUS: Artisanal pencil sharpening