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Word of the day
- Thread starter slobake
- Start date
chinese whispers
Chinese whispers is a clustering method used in network science named after the famous whispering game. Clustering methods are basically used to identify communities of nodes or links in a given network. This algorithm was designed by Chris Biemann and Sven Teresniak in 2005. The name comes from the fact that the process can be modeled as a separation of communities where the nodes send the same type of information to each other.
Chinese whispers is a hard partitioning, randomized, flat clustering (no hierarchical relations between clusters) method. The random property means that running the process on the same network several times can lead to different results, while because of hard partitioning one node can only belong to one cluster at a given moment. The original algorithm is applicable to undirected, weighted and unweighted graphs. Chinese whispers is time linear which means that it is extremely fast even if the number of nodes and links are very high in the network.
Compendious
1. Containing or presenting the essential facts of something in a comprehensive but concise way.
1. Containing or presenting the essential facts of something in a comprehensive but concise way.
Slobbovian.
Adjective, created by Li'l Abner cartoonist Al Capp in 1946. Denotes a place or behavior which is underdeveloped, socially backward, remote, impoverished or unenlightened.
Adjective, created by Li'l Abner cartoonist Al Capp in 1946. Denotes a place or behavior which is underdeveloped, socially backward, remote, impoverished or unenlightened.
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plonk
Plonk is a non-specific and derogatory term used primarily in British and Australian English for cheap, low-quality wine. It is believed to come from Australian slang, in reference to blanc (the French word for "white"), before it became naturalised in Britain. Despite the reference to the colour white, the term is not limited to white wine, and can as easily indicate a red wine or rosé. In this context, the phrase has even spawned the title of a novel which evokes the perceived tackiness of the 1980s. In Australia, plonk packaged and sold in a cask or simply in a bag is commonly called "goon". [Goon is probably short for flagon 
Prior to goon you may have heard the terms "camel sweat" or "gut rot." There are more descriptors, rest assured 
]
While not commonly used, the term has also been adopted in other Commonwealth countries[, like] Canada.
Prior to goon you may have heard the terms "camel sweat" or "gut rot." There are more descriptors, rest assured ]While not commonly used, the term has also been adopted in other Commonwealth countries[, like] Canada.
Cheers!
Harlequin
The name Harlequin is taken from that of a mischievous "devil" or "demon" character in popular French passion plays. It originates with an Old French term herlequin, hellequin, first attested in the 11th century, by the chronicler Orderic Vitalis, who recounts a story of a monk who was pursued by a troop of demons when wandering on the coast of Normandy (France ) at night. These demons were led by a masked, club-wielding giant and they were known as familia herlequin (var. familia herlethingi). This medieval French version of the Germanic Wild Hunt, Mesnée d'Hellequin, has been connected to the English figure of Herla cyning ("host-king"; German Erlkönig). Hellequin was depicted as a black-faced emissary of the devil, roaming the countryside with a group of demons chasing the damned souls of evil people to Hell. The physical appearance of Hellequin offers an explanation for the traditional colours of Harlequin's red-and-black mask. The name's origin could also be traced to a knight from the 9th century, Hellequin of Boulogne, who died fighting the Normans and originated a legend of devils. In Cantos XXI and XXII from Dante's Inferno there is a devil by the name of Alichino. The similarities between the devil in Dante's Inferno and the Arlecchino are more than cosmetic. The prank-like antics of the devils in the aforementioned antics reflect some carnivalesque aspects.
The first known appearance on stage of Hellequin is dated to 1262, the character of a masked and hooded devil in Jeu da la Feuillière by Adam de la Halle, and it became a stock character in French passion plays. …
