‘Sentiment mining’ – i.e. trying to gauge the Public’s attitude towards an institution, product, firm (etc. etc.) though automatic analysis of Social Media posts (etc. etc.) is now considered an essential tool for market researchers and ‘reputation managers’. But there are problems. One of which is sarcasm. Given its prevalence, serious errors can be introduced […]
Tag: irony
Analysing Pointless Banter
‘Pointless’ is a popular TV quiz-show series currently aired in the UK by the BBC. It’s hosted by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, whom, along with the contestants, often engage in a spot of banter. [If you’re not familiar with the show, here’s an episode.] This banter specifically features in (what the publishers say is) […]
“Yummy!” “Yucky!” and irony – some philosophical viewpoints
When it comes to food, if someone says that “X is yummy” it can usually be taken to mean that they very much like what they’re eating. But what if they say “X is yummy” in an ironic way rather than in a sincere way? The philosophical implications are pondered by Professor Nick Zangwill, Ferens […]
The pleasures of listening to ironically-enjoyed music (new study)
“When you enjoy music in spite of the fact that it’s bad, because of the fact that it’s bad, or you enjoy it for a different reason than the musician intended” then that’s ‘ironically-enjoyed music’. The definition comes from a new (Aug 2016) study scheduled for publication in the Psychology of Music journal entitled : […]
Strategies and tactics for ironic subversion
If you’ve ever made use of the simile “About as useful as knickers on a kipper” then, knowingly or not, you could have been indulging in a spot of ironic subversion. Dr Tony Veale BSc MSC PhD, who is a the Principal Investigator of the Creative Language System Group at University College Dublin School of […]
The Pursuit of Irony
Savor, if you will, the merciless pursuit of irony, in a newly published paper, and then in gleeful commentary by people who read that paper. The paper is: “The Ethics of Ironic Science in Its Search for Spoof,” Maryam Ronagh, Lawrence Souder, Science and Engineering Ethics, epub December 16, 2014. The authors, at Drexel University, […]