Ig Nobel 2006 Prize in mathematics
The 2006 Ig Nobel Prize in mathematics was awarded to Dr Piers Barnes and Ms Nic Svenson of CSIRO for figuring out how many photographs to take of a group of people to be confident of getting at least one where no-one鈥檚 blinking.
CSIRO鈥檚 laureates accepted their prize (described by the international science journal Nature as 鈥渘o cash, but much cachet鈥�) at the traditionally unorthodox ceremony at Harvard University in Boston last night.
鈥淲e are proud to have made a gross simplification of complex physiological and psychological factors backed up with no empirical data,鈥� physicist Dr Barnes said.
鈥淟ike many other theories, if enough assumptions are made, we are confident that our expression holds,鈥� he said.
For the record: for groups of less than 20, you divide the number of people by three if there鈥檚 good light or a decent flash, and two if the light鈥檚 bad.
The Sixteenth First Annual [sic] Ig Nobel prizes honour research that first makes people laugh, and then makes them think.
鈥淐SIRO has an ongoing responsibility to help inspire and educate about science,鈥� said writer and sometime photographer Ms Svenson.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like Isaac Asimov said: 鈥楾he most exciting phrase to hear in science is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...鈥�,鈥� she said.
Source: CSIRO
