this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2025
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Science Memes

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top 18 comments
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[–] Funky_Beak@lemmy.sdf.org 126 points 6 months ago

And a very acedemic response to 'hehe our names say cock sucker'

[–] perishthethought@piefed.social 96 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Just gonna leave us wondering about the algorithm, eh?

In arithmetic geometry, the Cox–Zucker machine is an algorithm created by David A. Cox and Steven Zucker. This algorithm determines whether a given set of sections[further explanation needed] provides a basis (up to torsion) for the Mordell–Weil group of an elliptic surface E → S, where S is isomorphic to the projective line.

Or was that just me?

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 68 points 6 months ago

I'm not wondering any less now.

[–] TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub 38 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I wasn’t very curious since according to them, the primary point of the paper was making a joke. I assumed the algorithm wasn’t groundbreaking or truly interesting, just something that could be published.

[–] Grostleton@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 6 months ago

*nodding

Mmm.

Aha, yep. I know some of these words.

[–] Midnitte@beehaw.org 68 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I love that this originated from NJ, via Princeton and Rutgers.

This was a deliberate choice by Cox and Zucker, who, as first-year graduate students at Princeton University in 1970, conceived of the idea of coauthoring a paper for the express purpose of enabling this joke. They followed through on it five years later, as members of the faculty at Rutgers University

[–] IzzyJ@lemmy.world 24 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] MidsizedSedan@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Wasn't there an actual NASA project called C3PO? I'm vaguely remembering a MattPatt video from Pre-FNAF days

Update: NASAS Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO)

It looked like it ended in 2013 but my memory was still right

[–] wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 9 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Oh man, pre-FNAF? Thats the deep magic.

[–] ClathrateG@hexbear.net 22 points 6 months ago
[–] lostme@lemmy.world 11 points 6 months ago

A thing to note is that they didn't name the algorithm. It was 5 years later when Charles Schwartz gave it that name

[–] Moidialectica@hexbear.net 9 points 6 months ago

May their research be revered forevermore

[–] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago

Some other mathematicians took another set of work by Cox and created the Cox Ring.

[–] BilSabab@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

Fair enough

[–] Bonus@mander.xyz 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

If Deadwood had been set in France.

[–] whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] Bonus@mander.xyz 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)