Tom Lehrer - Lobachevsky

[TnseWlms]

So in real life did Tom Lehrer ever write a research paper on a analytic and algebraeic topology of locally Euclidean metrization of infinitely differentiable Reimannian manifold?

[Saracenen]

@TnseWlms He graduated from Harvard... magna cum laude in mathematics.

[MrLaytes]

Creative teacher, this is which I call it funny creative soul ♥

[imagineers0]

I was studying Russian at UCSC when he was a professor of mathematics there. I had no idea. He was not known there beyond mathematics.

[thewickedcome]

I love this guy!

[ThomasHunter15]

Four people listen to JB

[Ebrainiac1]

Jeez. They had this back then, and now we have to put up with "jizz in my pants" and such witty lyrics as "tomorrow is saturday and sunday comes afterwards"?

Oh how the music industry has slid down the crap chute.

[Mirkwoodelves]

@Ebrainiac1

Well, to be fair, Tom Lehrer wasn't a part of the "music industry". It's not a great comparison.

[maldarkangel]

amazing



[chan625]

A Legend!

[teacherspeakout]

Lehrer fans love the new "Lobachevsky Dramatization"

Search for it as spelled (in quotes) and leave a comment.

[teacherspeakout]

For world's first full on dramatization of Lobachevsky (Lehrer fans love it) search "lobachevsky johnny mello"

You'll be glad you did.

[DevilReadsVogue]

I found out about this guy, because Daniel Radcliffe is a big fan, and I love it. Thanks Dan! (;

[VivaRenata]

Hey! Don't criticize, just enjoy. Lehrer's insights into academic life (and life in general) remain brilliant. From one who at least thinks she knows a great deal about this.

[entropyftw]

Aha. Lehrer st-- adapted a passage from Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 into this.

"And then I write, by morning, night..." indeed.

[carbonite206]

Which concert hall was this recorded ?

[ZakMay]

seems like Mel Brooks was quoting this almost literally in "The Producers":

"I used to be the King... the King of all Broadway..." - only he changed Лобачевский to Томашевский :-))

[CoolJohnDog]

"Who has been my particular idol since childbirth"

I'll have to remember that one

[MrJDurao]

I am never forget the day I first heard this song :)

It's one of the most intelligent songs ever! <3

[eeg10]

I am never forget the day...

[MarkNie1]

that isn't right. Lobachevsky went into the future and searched stuff up on Wikipedia.

[achetam]

Dnepropetrovsk loves Tom ^^



[flowiepanda]

can we have this instead of rap?

[kuksugare88]

@flowiepanda Music channels would be completely weird if music like this completely replaced rap.

[sablatnic]

@kuksugare88

You mean?

Music channels would be weird if they stopped playing rap and started playing music? Are they actually music channels when playing rap?

[kuksugare88]

@sablatnic I agree that rap isn't music. I don't enjoy it whatsoever - I do enjoy music such as this, satire and such. It would just be very interesting to turn on your television and everywhere is awesome stuff like this. Particularly if the change was sudden.

[entropyftw]

@kuksugare88 They would be ENTERTAINING, and we can't possibly have that.

[kuksugare88]

@entropyftw I see your point - music isn't about entertainment anymore. It's about money and brainwashing. :(

[sislau]

I am AMAZED he was a mathematician/scientist by day, and an entertaining satirist by night. What talent!!

[bbfan77]

did he just say "Bože moj?" :D

[cnuulhu]

I've listened to "Lobachevsky" many, many times, yet this is the first time I noticed Lehrer saying, "And I thought it would be interesting to ste-- er, to adapt this idea to the field of mathematics."

[MegF142857]

$3,000 in 1965 would be $20,000 in 2009. Good ole inflation!

[PaladinswordSaurfang]

@MegF142857 No you're inflated.

[malachitx]

@MegF142857 And $600000000000000000 in 2011

[ChicagoCharlie]

Well, it is similar to Newton and Leibnitz and the Calculus. Lobachevsky's is the sphere, Gauss the saddle.

[markinwhite]

Bozhe Mojj!

[SimuLord]

In Soviet Russia Lobachevsky plagiarize from YOU!

[mafrench14]

that guy is awesome, i like his sense of humour...hilarious!

[flowertrue]

It's great how he came up with so many great phrases that rhyme plagiarize

[danitiwa]

It's not plagirism if you paraphrase! :P

[VWman100]

I'm half Russian :3 GO RUSSIA

[san2chi]

"I spoke no Russian (and still speak none), and it was Munro Edmonson who taught me (phonetically) the Russian phrase I used in 'Lobachevsky' regarding going where even the Tsar goes on foot. The first phrase was the first line of Mussorgsky's Song of the Flea, with which I was already familiar and which Ed taught me how to pronounce. It means 'once there was a king who had a pet flea.' The second says 'now I go where even the Tsar goes on foot.' A reference... to the bathroom." --Tom Lehrer

[MEpianist]

LOL, but what did Pravda say: "жил-был урод это как проклатые дела"

and Izvestija:  "я иду сенсария пешком!"

Someone help!

[Frykun]

@MEpianist

"жил-был король когда-то, при нём блоха жила" - "there once was a king; a flea lived with him" (a song)

"я иду куда сам царь идёт пешком" - "I'm going [to the place] where czar himself walks to" (toilet)

[nomadmalachi]

Great song, I dislike ony because of the repeticoun on pics.

[reallyharried]

.... one of the funniest and most original creative geniuses we've had the pleasure of hearing in our lifetimes!

[MaxbdxaM]

Russia FTW!

[TheArashmatashable]

WHOOOOOP WHOOOOOOOOP! Gooooooooooooo this song thingy!

[mabarry3]

Wait... I just looked up Lobachevsky. He died in the 1850s, but Tom wasn't born until the 1920s. Tom sees spirits !! ;D I love Tom

[mabarry3]

Best lines of the song:

It was on.. An analytical algebraic topology of locally euplidean metrizations of infinitely differential boriemanian manifolds BORJEMOR. This I know from nothing! But I think the great Lobachevsky and I get idea haHA!

Remember why the Good Lord made your eyes! So don't shade your eyes, but plagiarize!

I'm glad I never had to do a fierce "original" report on .. An anflelfadfi algevds todsfe of lobaefy eufeajid metrikion of infigs difealid boremef mandigols. . ?

[CROEmil]

@mabarry3 It's not BORJEMOR its BOZHE MOI which means "Oh my God" :DDD

[mabarry3]

@CROEmil I guess I need to brush up on my Russian, no? Hm... Whose hard work in writing an English-Russian dictionary can I steal - er - use information from?

[H2nescom]

@mabarry3 "It was on analytical and algebraic topology of locally Euclidean parametrization of infinitely differentiable Reimannian manifold. Bozhe Moi!"

Trust me.

[mabarry3]

I thought it would be a good idea to st- to adapt this idea to the field of mathematics.

I could be making, oh, $3000 a year just teaching!

LOL

[xXicecream9995Xx]

this i know from nothing but i think of great lobachevsky and i get idea HAHA

[xXicecream9995Xx]

only be sue always to call it please......research!!!!!

[bizoneee]

Haha, begins the fun xD

[DrDave953]

Wish I could say, "Totally fucking brilliant" and have it say under my nick...

47 years ago

:-P

Dave.

[hedonism13]

Ah, analytical algebraic topology of locally euclidean metrizations of infinitely differential riemannian manifolds. I totes aced that one.

[MrsNorris55]

@hedonism13

ROFL

I didn't understand a word of that ...!!

[mabarry3]

@MrsNorris55 Don't worry, it only takes 15 tries before you can type it down. Once you write it down, then it makes sense.

[SpiritedForestFaery]

Since childbirth.

[gorgeofeternalperil]

Brilliant, just brilliant.

[nathster9]

In soviet russia math teach tom lehrer

[SatoTM3]

@nathster9 it soviet russia, bed sleeps on YOU!

[doctorwhom1]

Good artists copy

Great artists steal

[TheAwnman]

@doctorwhom1 and where does leher fit into that ????????

[doctorwhom1]

@TheAwnman the song is about stealing, and he uses many gilbert and sullivin songs

[lloydgar01]

@doctorwhom1 he's "adapting" :-P

[ffwrchamotobeics]

Genius. Thanks!

[MultiGeraghty]

@ffwrchamotobeics Is Tom Lehrer still around? Maybe teaching as Lehrer I think is German word for teacher. (or is it reader?)

[GreyLabyrinthine]

@MultiGeraghty You're right :) "Lehrer" means "teacher", indeed. German wikipedia claims he's still around without saying what he's up to.

[SatoTM3]

@GreyLabyrinthine without the H it's lerer, 'learner' in dutch

[ChiYamakuro]

@SatoTM3 Actually, in Dutch, it's "leraar", but it is similar ^^

[SatoTM3]

@ChiYamakuro i kno. dutch is kidna my fucking first language =D

[crazypianolady]

@MultiGeraghty Wikipedia says he taught his last maths class in 2001, on the topic of infinity, and retired. He has remained in the area, and still "hangs out" around the University of California

[tikkeltje]

'i could make 3000 dollars a year just teaching'

[MrSpockify]

Want to sound smart? Say you're doing a paper on: Analytic and algebraic topology of locally euclidean metrization of infinitely differentiable riemannian manifold. Also try saying it five times fast! xDD He's a genius man, that's for sure.

[Rohan2300]

@5ive23 you mean Phlem-potenuse ?

[beastchief]

its amazing how he talks so fast like when he says the name of "his first original piece" but also in the element song

[pivotyboy]

Russia Rocks

[doublealufwaffe]

"I have a friend in Minsk". Jajaja, genius!!

[VivaRenata]

Tycker om denna version med de inledande kommentarerna om läraryrket! "I could be making, oh, 3.000 dollars a year just teaching." Kommentaren om att han beundrat Danny Kaye (stor amerikansk komiker) sedan barndomen handlar väl om att Kaye var väldigt gammal men ännu håller igång.

[yumyummoany]

To copy from another is plagiarism.

To copy from more than one is research.

(From the old academic jokes home)

[charlie8575]

One of my favorite songs of his. So true, so funny, and with the over-paniciness of graduate-level studies and academic dishonesty, which is a legitimate concern, but this helps me laugh at the foolishness of how over-reactive graduate school can be.

[CrazyDoncovA]

what do you mean so true..?

[bananachip33]

And Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky was his name!

[TWICEfan3125]

Hi!

[xarold]

This is hilarious LMAO!

[producer111]

This song may pose completely baseless allegations against a genius of mathematics (Lobachevsky) but it's still hilarious.

[dfretless]

Much better to appreciate the embedded joke when you hear this though. :)

[kongurous]

It wasn't meant to call Lobachevsky a plagiarist, the name was chosen for comedic effect. In other words, he used it because it flowed right, not to slander the mathematician.

[fatcatsathat]

Of course it was not to meant to slander the great Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky.

Who deserves the credit and who deserves the blame. Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name. Hey!

[sullyy1288]

@producer111 Lehrer stated that the song is no slight against Lobachevsky and his name was chosen only because it fit well into the song

[tertonmike]

@producer111 : oh, please! It just scans, that's all!

[gofloyd]

@producer111:

Apparently it's not meant to be an allegation, Lehrer's on record as saying he chose the name basically because it fit the rhythm.

[museofthesea]

Absolutely wonderful -- it's been too long since I've heard this song! Thank you so much.

[nickmoorem]

Long time watcher, first time commenter.

I love the intro.