Martin Krzywinski / Genome Sciences Center / mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash / Leonard Cohen / watch

laughter: exciting


Another -ome! Circos manages the connectome of 50 brains—NeuroImage 28 Jan


fun + amusement

Dummer — Like Nothing Else


The Hummer font is a slightly modified Antique Olive Nord. The Like Nothing Else tag line is Trade Gothic. Both have character widths increased to 110-120% and individually adjusted kerning. Get the Illustrator CS5 file for both logos.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Hummer logo. (EPS, PNG)
Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer logo. (EPS, PNG)
Download high-resolution images.

This project might give you the impression that I don't like Hummers. You'd be right.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
It could be worse. But not by much. (zoom)
Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
It could be worse. But not by much. (zoom)
Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
It could be worse. But not by much. (zoom)

update

The Maurauder. Over 25,000 lb — five times what an H3 weighs. Enough said.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
There is always someone with a bigger one. (Manufacturer's page.)

Dummer - Like Nothing Else

Hummers are a cultural equivalent of a toxic warning label and have the same effect on me as bug spray on mosquitoes.

I am not the first one to satirize this automotive aberration, so there's some hope.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like Nothing Else. (New York Times — Laugh Lines)

GM's advertisement images require no modification for the satire, which makes it all that much better.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dumb and Dumber. (New York Times — Laugh Lines)

I could have just as well used the Lincoln Navigator or Cadillac Escalade, but they don't embody the superlative like the Hummer.

The Hummer brand proved itself to be aesthetically, rationally and economically unsustainable and collapsed after a failed attempt to sell it to China. There continues to be a robust market for used Hummers. Let the farce continue.

I'm hated

It delights me that this project produced my first hate mail.

I want to meet Doug and give him a hug for adding another dimension to this project.

I'm loved

The images got picked up by the New York Times laughlines blog, which drew a couple of fan mails.

But neither made me feel as good as Doug's email.

Dummer Images

Dummer. Like nothing else. A pretty good Hummer satire. / Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like nothing else. (zoom)
Dummer. Like nothing else. A pretty good Hummer satire. / Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like nothing else. (zoom)
Dummer. Like nothing else. A pretty good Hummer satire. / Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like nothing else. (zoom)
Dummer. Like nothing else. A pretty good Hummer satire. / Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like nothing else. (zoom)
Dummer. Like nothing else. A pretty good Hummer satire. / Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like nothing else. (zoom)
Dummer. Like nothing else. A pretty good Hummer satire. / Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like nothing else. (zoom)
Dummer. Like nothing else. A pretty good Hummer satire. / Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like nothing else. (zoom)
Dummer. Like nothing else. A pretty good Hummer satire. / Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like nothing else. (zoom)
Dummer. Like nothing else. A pretty good Hummer satire. / Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Dummer. Like nothing else. (zoom)

news + thoughts

Science needs words

Thu 03-05-2012

And usually, really long and funny ones.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Scientists love new words, when the old ones aren't long enough.

My neologisms were picked up by James Gorman of the New York Times in an article Ome, the sound of the scientific universe expanding.

PNAS cover

Tue 01-05-2012

Biology or astrophysics? Read about how it was done.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Hint: biology.

The image was published on the cover of PNAS (PNAS 1 May 2012; 109 (18))

the art of numbers

Sat 14-04-2012

Numerology is bogus but art based on numbers has a beautiful random quality. Oh, and none of the metaphysical baggage.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Distribution of the first 3,422, 13,689 and 123,201 digits of π.
Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Progression and transition probabilities of digits in e, φ and π.

accidental similarity number

Tue 20-03-2012

The quantity formed by the overlap of two or more numbers.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
The accidental similarity number of π, φ and e.