THE PARADIGM PARADOX by Bill Schweber Analog Devices, Norwood, Massachusetts Scientific communicators are investigating the sudden drop-off in appearances of the noun "paradigm." Literature citations of the word (known as "citings of sightings") have decreased by 75 percent during the past year. The outlook for next year is even worse: the word will have almost disappeared. More research is needed to follow the progress of "paradigm" since it first appeared in a widely read book ("The Structure of Scientific Revolutions," T. S. Kuhn, 2nd edition, University of Chicago Press, 1970). Hypotheses being proposed to explain this situation include global warming or other environmental causes, "wear-out" (grinding down due to excessive use), the dictates of fashion, and user confusion as to what "paradigm" actually means. A more advanced proposal from the Institute for Astronomical Linguistics is that the life cycle of a word parallels the life cycle of stars. When use of a word (or expression) grows slowly, it may become self-sustaining and eventually embed itself into the common language, resulting in a very long lifetime. In contrast, when usage flares up like a nova star, the mass of meanings that the expression must support becomes too great, and the expression suddenly collapses in on itself. In severe cases, it may become like a star transformed into a black hole, never to be seen again. Data is trickling in for our list of odd but genuine units of measurement. Here is a random sampling. (We will publish a more complete list in the September/October issue of AIR). THE DUDLEY, a unit of height used by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute scientists to measure hydrothermal vents (also known as "black smokers") that are found on the ocean floor. The unit refers to the height of Dudley Foster, the five-foot-eight pilot of the undersea vehicle Alvin. (Submitted by investigator Maggie Rioux.) THE JOHNNY WALKER INCH, a unit of volume adopted by Malaysian freelance tin dredgers who were paid by the amount of tin concentrate they recovered. A Johnny Walker inch is the volume of material that would fill an empty Johnny Walker Scotch whiskey bottle to a height of one inch. (Submitted by investigator Robin Hall.) THE MICROFORTNIGHT, a unit of time used in the documentation to Digital Equipment Corporation's Open VMS operation system. (Submitted by investigators Paul Tomblin, Stan Gifford, Reece Pollack, and Roland Seidl.) THE SMOOT, a unit of length, defined to be the height of Oliver Smoot, Jr., used to measure the length of the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge between Boston and Cambridge. The complete measurement of the bridge also makes use of a related unit, THE EAR. (Submitted by several dozen investigators.) THE SCOVILLE, a unit of hotness used in classifying hot peppers. THE GARN, a volumetric unit named after U.S. Senator Jake Garn, who flew on a space shuttle mission and spent much of that time vomiting. (Submitted by investigator Paul Kolodner and several others.) *** If you have know of a genuine genuinely odd unit of measurement--and can document it--please mail or fax the documentation to: Genuine Genuinely Odd Units Project Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) P.O. Box 380853 Cambridge, MA 02228 FAX: 617-661-0927 *************************************************************************** * TechNet mail list is provided as a service by IPC using SmartList v3.05 * *************************************************************************** * To unsubscribe from this list at any time, send a message to: * * [log in to unmask] with <subject: unsubscribe> and no text. * ***************************************************************************