Linkage

This year’s Graph Drawing contest rules and graphs (G+). This year’s challenge is over but the graphs are probably still interesting as test data. The G+ post includes an argument that some graphs require sharp crossing angles (this year’s optimization criterion).

Borromeaanse ringen / Borromean Rings. One of many imagined mathematical cityscapes by Ralph van Raaij.

ArXiv adds three electrical engineering topic areas, and a few days later another for econometrics.

Turán’s brick factory problem (G+). The problem that started the study of crossing numbers of graphs. Now a Good Article on Wikipedia.

Thousands of new solutions to the three-body problem (G+). It appears from the preprint that these supposed new periodic orbits have only been determined numerically, and have not been verified to exist with rigorous mathematics.

The female scientists and technologists on the ceiling of Grand Central Station.

Accepting the state of being stuck. Andrew Wiles’ advice for success in mathematical research.

Algorithmically designed bobbin lace by Veronika Irvine (G+). See her Graph Drawing paper with Therese Biedl for more on the mathematics behind this mathematical textile art.

View-Master Dog, the unofficial mascot of Graph Drawing 2017.

Graph Drawing contest winners (G+). The link describes an interactive visualization of a citation network. But the outcome of the online part of the contest is that optimizing crossing angles above all else leads to bad drawings.

The economics of diamond open access (G+). With ineffective paid-publisher shill in the comments.

When open-access whitelists fail (G+, via). Somehow over a hundred predatory journals made their way onto an Indian approved-journal list. But even DOAJ-listed journals accepted a bad test paper in nearly half of the instances of one test.