What exactly is that last phrase supposed to modify? I find that syntax confusing. Is that ironic or intentional?
agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
on 24 Jun 23:55
nextcollapse
I think the joke is that 110.000 years is very precise, but that precision isnât very useful when you only identify where that measurement zeroes as vaguely as âsometime this weekâ.
I get and appreciate that joke. I actually meant the last phrase of the quote (the unintended irony of my questionâs vagueness now noted!), âwhich can always be made more precise.â
John Wilder Tukey (/ËtuËki/; June 16, 1915 â July 26, 2000) was an American mathematician and statistician, best known for the development of the fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm and the box plot.
The comic strip was published on June 18 2025, two days after Tukeyâs 110th birthday. The last sentence combines a precise but wrong statement (Tukey would be 110,000 years old today) with an imprecise but correct statement (his birthday is some time that week).
threaded - newest
đŚ
What exactly is that last phrase supposed to modify? I find that syntax confusing. Is that ironic or intentional?
I think the joke is that 110.000 years is very precise, but that precision isnât very useful when you only identify where that measurement zeroes as vaguely as âsometime this weekâ.
I get and appreciate that joke. I actually meant the last phrase of the quote (the unintended irony of my questionâs vagueness now noted!), âwhich can always be made more precise.â
From Wikipedia:
The comic strip was published on June 18 2025, two days after Tukeyâs 110th birthday. The last sentence combines a precise but wrong statement (Tukey would be 110,000 years old today) with an imprecise but correct statement (his birthday is some time that week).