Via Calpundit: scientists with alphabetically earlier names do better in the academic rat-race.

So does having a blog id that comes before 99% of other LJ's (in ASCII sorted order, statistic made up from no data) help me in any way?

ETA: Two longer posts by Suresh on the same topic.




Comments:

eccemathematica:
2006-04-14T02:14:49Z

*giggle* I wonder if I should change my name to Jessica Aaron or something....naaaaah.

11011110:
2006-04-14T05:39:23Z

If you're going to change your name, much better to do it before you start publishing. I know some people who did so mid-career (mostly but not entirely due to marriage, even though several of them are male) and it just ends up confusing everyone.

helger:
2006-04-14T13:41:10Z

You should change your nick to 00000000 :-).

Or move to China, so that your coauthors would be called Xing, Xiao, Xu, Zhang, Zheng, Yung, Ying, Yu, Zhao, Zhu, Zhou, Wang, Wong, Wu etc. (I have seen references like [ZZZ05].)

eccemathematica:
2006-04-14T23:30:32Z

Well, too late then: I'm already published as J.L. Nelson. *shrug* It has a nice ring to it. Do you know anyone who has published under a pseudonym? I think it would be great if S.C. Hardson published something someday.

11011110:
2006-04-15T00:12:52Z

Do you know anyone who has published under a pseudonym?

For "know" meaning "have heard of", Bourbaki?

eccemathematica:
2006-04-15T00:20:23Z

Oh, well, I've heard of "him," but I was hoping for a more recent example, such as someone just doing it as a practical joke or to get an idea out in the open without risking one's reputation. I suppose I'm being very romantic at this point.

0olong:
2006-04-14T10:31:16Z

You appear at the beginning of practically every list of users (friends lists, etc.) that doesn't have me in it! Way to get noticed!

 - 0olong, from the other 1%, who would have spelt it with an o if someone hadn't already taken that name.

11011110:
2006-04-14T15:16:04Z

Sure, for a definition of "practically every" that only includes the 20-something people whose flist I'm on...

I suppose it does at least put me very early in some group member lists.