3 ms·

Correct. Both terms do, however, refer to Baron von Munchausen's levitation technique.

Myrmornis 9y ago
What about "the bootstrap method"? That name is commonly associated with the data resampling technique. Did the journalist make an error in saying that it was also used for this thing in theoretical particle physics?
- jacobolus 9y ago
  These are all based on a saying from the early 19th century about the foolishness of trying to do something impossible, e.g. “It is conjectured that Mr. Murphee will now be enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots.” (1834) An earlier tall tale (from the 18th century or before) is that the fictional Baron Munchausen pulled himself out of a swamp by his own hair. Often the bootstrap saying is claimed to come from this source, but there’s not much proof of that, and it’s probably a misattribution. In computing, the idea of “bootstrapping” (“booting”) dates from the 1950s, and refers to a computer starting with some simple capabilities which can read some data in and go through a series of steps each of which increases its capability, until it has been fully initialized. Metaphorically, the computer is pulling itself up by its own bootstraps rather than getting an external boost. There are many other later uses of this idea of “bootstrapping”, including in statistics (from the late 1970s) and theoretical physics.
  - Myrmornis 9y ago
    Cool, I didn't know the literature references. However what I was asking was whether the specific phrase "the bootstrap method" was used for this thing in theoretical physics. I only know the statistical concept, which _is_ called "the bootstrap method"; this physics thing sounds to me more like a "theory" or "model" than a "method" and I wondered if perhaps the journalist had got "the bootstrap method" from google hits (which are overwhelmingly dominated by the statistical concept) and thus muddied the waters slightly. A fairly unimportant question, to be sure.
    - auntienomen 9y ago
      The journalist did not invent the physics use of the term 'bootstrap method'. As the article makes clear, it came from some Berkeley physicists in the 1960s.

What about "the bootstrap method"? That name is commonly associated with the data resampling technique. Did the journalist make an error in saying that it was also used for this thing in theoretical particle physics?

jacobolus 9y ago
These are all based on a saying from the early 19th century about the foolishness of trying to do something impossible, e.g. “It is conjectured that Mr. Murphee will now be enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots.” (1834) An earlier tall tale (from the 18th century or before) is that the fictional Baron Munchausen pulled himself out of a swamp by his own hair. Often the bootstrap saying is claimed to come from this source, but there’s not much proof of that, and it’s probably a misattribution. In computing, the idea of “bootstrapping” (“booting”) dates from the 1950s, and refers to a computer starting with some simple capabilities which can read some data in and go through a series of steps each of which increases its capability, until it has been fully initialized. Metaphorically, the computer is pulling itself up by its own bootstraps rather than getting an external boost. There are many other later uses of this idea of “bootstrapping”, including in statistics (from the late 1970s) and theoretical physics.
- Myrmornis 9y ago
  Cool, I didn't know the literature references. However what I was asking was whether the specific phrase "the bootstrap method" was used for this thing in theoretical physics. I only know the statistical concept, which _is_ called "the bootstrap method"; this physics thing sounds to me more like a "theory" or "model" than a "method" and I wondered if perhaps the journalist had got "the bootstrap method" from google hits (which are overwhelmingly dominated by the statistical concept) and thus muddied the waters slightly. A fairly unimportant question, to be sure.
  - auntienomen 9y ago
    The journalist did not invent the physics use of the term 'bootstrap method'. As the article makes clear, it came from some Berkeley physicists in the 1960s.