Who is at the Centre of the Universe? The EBS Game!

[PeterJB]

I really wish Atomic had beaten Typhoon 2 in the Semi-Final. All but one of it's opponents had a flipper, Bigger Brother almost eliminated them in the first round!

 

[wfooshee]

On the oracle it is Craig Charles (I). His Ben Elton link was Comic Relief: The Invasion of the Comic Tomatoes (1993) (TV). And Ben Elton was in "Breakfast" (2000) {(2005-11-11)} with Kevin Bacon. It can also be done via other pathways to get my number to be 3 through Craig Charles and just films (e.g. Craig Charles (I) was in Fated (2006) with Katrine De Candole was in X-Men: First Class (2011) with Kevin Bacon)

Fixed my post. I'd typo'd the 2 to a 3, and then reading the 3 as an accurate number gave you a 4. It's right now. I shall never let you down again!

Audience member in the following episode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Pf5ZExHcE

OK, at the risk of letting you down again, I don't think "audience member" counts.

 

[DG_Silva]

OK, at the risk of letting you down again, I don't think "audience member" counts.

Agreed, you haven't worked with Craig Charles, merely watched him. If that was applicable, and I have a Bacon number of 3 because I've watched Red Dwarf on DVD....

 

[Solo]

I appeared in a crowd shot though, not due to the fact that I watched the show live. Its the same as being an extra really. No?

 

[Famine]

It does only require television appearances.

I doubt Charles Dance will remember "working with" Mars as he was an extra. Sabine might remember "working with" me because we talked for 20 minutes about cars and my brother's Atom, but I'm hardly a credited face.

 

[homeforsummer]

Think I may have figured out my Bacon Number.

Me > (Fully Charged) > Robert Llewellyn > (Carpool) > Patrick Stewart > (Conspiracy Theory) > Julia Roberts > (Flatliners) > Kevin Bacon

Makes me a 4. A spurious one though - I only appear very briefly with Robert in a few frames, driving the car behind him in the Twizy episode of Fully Charged. And fairly unrecognisably so...

So that probably doesn't count

 

[Solo]

Your Bacon number will be lower than that HFS!

Robert Llewellyn was in Eldorado (2012) -> with Steve Guttenberg was in Diner (1982) with -> Kevin Bacon

Giving yourself a 3 also

 

[homeforsummer]

That's if mine counts! If you find the Twizy ep on YouTube it's definitely me in the car behind (because the camera equipment he's using is mine), but the car only flashes into view a few times and it's impossible to identify me...

I.e. it relies on you all trusting that I'm not talking a load of arse.

Definitely the same Bob Llew as well? Kryten, in other words?

 

[Solo]

I'll take your word for it, its the same as mine really a background shot but I'm definitely there!

 

[Famine]

I would have to think that Jaron Lanier would be on the list.

I want more information on this. I reckon it could be a winner.

Also, didn't Dwayne Johnson/The Rock get a bachelors' degre in mathematics? He'll definitely have Bacon and Sabbath numbers - if he published anything with a collaborator for his degree he'll have the full set.

Edit: His Wiki page says "Bachelor of General Studies" in criminology and physiology from University of Miami. So probably not.

 

[Touring Mars]

Cat, who is pivotal to my Sabbath number, is supporting Tom Jones next week... I reckon she has a really bright future, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her playing with some really big names soon, although she's doing pretty well as it is! Now, if only she would join Black Sabbath

 

[Famine]

I'm on the official list now

Do you want me to forward Timeblimp/Ross your name and chain and go public too?

 

[Touring Mars]

I'm on the official list now

Do you want me to forward Timeblimp/Ross your name and chain and go public too?

If you like

The weakest link I have is the connection between Peter Atkins and Freeman Dyson - they both wrote chapters in the same book, "Nature's Imagination: The frontiers of scientific vision" (see here: http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/685651)... hopefully that counts, but I wouldn't know...

I'm still trying to find other routes through some other people - I have a "Whitesides number" of 3, and George Whitesides is one of the most prolific chemists in history - I figure there must be a connection between himself and Erdos, but it's likely not direct!

edit: I now have a certain Erdos number of 5:

Me - EW Blanch - R Goodacre - B Kristal - DF Hsu - P Erdos

 

[Roger the Horse]

I'm on the official list now

Do you want me to forward Timeblimp/Ross your name and chain and go public too?

Woah... I know Famine's name. Don't worry, I'm not a snitch, I wont sell it to the CIA.

 

[Famine]

To be fair it's been available to anyone in a video in the GTP blog since August 2010...

 

[thesrdic]

Any ideas how I could get from Aled Jones to Black Sabbath? (Jones is in a possible two or definite 3)..

Also, need help getting from palaeontology (Dr. David Martill) to Erdos..

 

[Famine]

Any ideas how I could get from Aled Jones to Black Sabbath? (Jones is in a possible two or definite 3)..

Aled Jones recorded Pictures in the Dark with Mike Oldfield. Mike Oldfield played on Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom. Robert Wyatt sang Comfortably Numb (and others) with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Gilmour played with Tony Iommi of Sabbath on the Rock Aid Armenia album.

Which I make as Aled Jones to Black Sabbath in FIVE.

 

[thesrdic]

Cool, not a bad start, 7 or 8 for my S number (more likey 8)

Not expecting much for the E number, it won't be published until later this year/next year anyway..

Would my tiny Mobil 1 the Grid appearance (see earlier post here) be tangible enough for a B number?

 

[Famine]

I've updated the table in post 1 to reflect the official table and added a few GTPers to the second post (including three of the guys who were in the same GT Academy show I was in ).

 

[thesrdic]

Has the Le Mans episode of Mobil 1 - The Grid aired yet? There'll be a slight chance of me appearing in a shot or two there- either in the pits as they do a panning shot (I photobombed it just as we were leaving the pits), or when they were interviewing the drivers (Jonny Kane, Danny Watts & Nick Laventis IIRC) I was getting a teamsheety thing signed so you might see my lower half walk past.. If I am with those drivers, would a race broadcast be a tangible enough tv-show to link through? If so you could get to other drivers with more TV appearances (I'm sure M. Brundle has appeared with Jeremy Clarkson somewhere, which would mean I could get to Bacon in 5. I think...

Still stuck with the possible Erdos one though..

 

[Touring Mars]

PM me with the details of a paper you've written, and I'll have a look for you.

FYI, do not use Microsoft's Academic Search - it looks great... it even has a page that calculates your Erdos number automatically (!), but it's utter pants. According to it, I have alteast three routes to Erdos that would give me an Erdos no. of 4 - but they are all wrong. It doesn't distinguish between scientists that have the same name , and it even doesn't distinguish between Peter Erdos and Paul Erdos... kind of important that one

 

[thesrdic]

My lecturer (Dr. David Martill) is writing one atm on an ammonite I found in January, I asked if he'd put me on the paper, he said yes but I'm not 100% if it'd be as author

 

[Touring Mars]

I get an Erdos number of 6 for David Martill (and hence a provisional 7 for you if you do get an authorship credit with him...)

David Martill --- Michael J. Benton --- Francisco Ayala --- Paul Davies...

Paul Davies has an Erdos number of 3 according to his Wiki page (although Wikipedia is not 100% accurate - the Wiki page that lists people with various Erdos numbers is definitely wrong in places...) That said, Paul Davies (and Michael J. Benton and Francisco Ayala) are all pretty famous scientists, so I'm not surprised that Davies has a low Erdos number.

 

[Famine]

I've just randomly* worked out the Bacon-Sabbath number of Bill Bailey, but I doubt he'll have an Erdos number as an arts student who dropped out...

Bacon (2):
Bill Bailey was in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with John Malkovich
John Malkovich was in Queen's Logic with Kevin Bacon

Sabbath (4):
Bill Bailey performed Bill Bailey's Guide to the Orchestra with the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Anne Dudley (of the Art of Noise).
Anne Dudley (as the Art of Noise) performed "Kiss" with Tom Jones
Tom Jones's backing groups in the 1960s included session guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, later of Rainbow.
Ritchie Blackmore formed Rainbow with Ronny James Dio of Black Sabbath

*I'm trying to work out who's the best connected QI panellist aside from EBSer Prof. Cox. I've come up with Bill Bailey (no Erdos), Jo Brand (probably no Sabbath), Daniel Radcliffe (probably no Erdos), Ben Goldacre (no detectable Sabbath), Jim Moir (no Erdos, possibly unless books are included), the lovely Sue Perkins (no Erdos) and Howard Goodall (probably no Erdos)

 

[hellnback]

Yip correct Famine, I only meant the Oracle of Bacon as a good resource. Also I thought someone queried who who be the best 'Bacon' central figure.

 

[Touring Mars]

OK, I knew my connection to Cat would bring me a lower Sabbath number soon - she will play drums for Blues musician Gregg Wright in September at the Orkney Music Festival, and Gregg Wright has toured with Mick Fleetwood - Dave Walker has played for both Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath, bringing my Sabbath number to 5, and my Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath number to a very respectable 13... technically it is still 14, but unless something happens in the meantime, 13 is in the bag already

 

[Famine]

Very respectable indeed

You've been added to the Timeblimp list - meanwhile Richard Vranch is now down to 9 and Hawking is now at the centre of the universe alone with 8...

 

[Touring Mars]

Richard Vranch? Whodathunkit?

Probably should wait to confirm with Cat that she actually played with Gregg Wright in September before telling the guy at Timeblimp that I'm on 13, but it's pretty cool being on that list!

Incidentally, the missing link in my Erdos number (the link between Freeman Dyson and Paul Erdos) turns out to be Dean R. Hickerson.

 

[trackripper123]

Trackripper123 > Lang Lang > Katherine McPhee > Carlos Santana > Peter Green > Mick Fleetwood > Dave Walker > Black Sabbath.

Yes, I have performed with Lang Lang. Gives me a Sabbath number of... erm... 6? Or 7?

Haven't published anything, no Erdos.

Haven't been on TV, no Bacon.

 

[niky]

Funnily enough, I've been on TV, interviews and one or two commercial spots... but I've never actually seen myself on TV.