Annals Of Improbable Research

I recently read the letter that George Scherr had submitted to The Scientist concerning the relationship between the Journal of Irreproducible Results and the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) [G.H. Scherr The Scientist, Jan. 8, 1996, page 12]. As a member of the editorial board of AIR, I felt I should respond. I was fascinated to read that Scherr asserts that neither Marc Abrahams nor AIR were ever associated with the Ig Nobel Prize. I participated in what I supposed to be the last two Ig

Written byRichard Roberts
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I was fascinated to read that Scherr asserts that neither Marc Abrahams nor AIR were ever associated with the Ig Nobel Prize. I participated in what I supposed to be the last two Ig Nobel Prize ceremonies, under the strong impression that they were hosted by the same Abrahams. Could it be that I was part of some elaborate spoof? Was it merely a shadow of the real Abrahams who hosted my show? I am told that video recordings exist, but have not yet seen them. Are these too fake? I note that even such publications as Science, Nature, and Scientific American as well as our local TV network must have been fooled too. Could it be that Scherr and I inhabit parallel universes in which my own recollections are improbable and his are irreproducible?

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