Anonymous,
It is such as pity that you chose to be Anonymous here. Like most of the other respondents. Hedging your bets perhaps. I am guessing this is TH Ray since he not only replied to me but told me there was a reply here.
If you had actually read what I had written you would have seen that I was responding to MR Jeub's work as an artistic expression. I have commented on the poetry in the style of writing. Highlighted some of the more literary expressions that are unusual to find in a piece of science writing and the humour within it. Perhaps I did not see the same jokes as you but I still found parts amusing. I certainly was not laughing aloud and uncontrollably as you describe. As a work of art it is fascinating. As you seem to also agree. It also appeals to my analytical mind. It appears to be written in a language that I understand. It is English in a flowing poetic style. I am rather like a baby who has limited vocabulary but is "programmed" to learn and decode. Though it would take too long with dictionary and search engine to unravel it completely.
You are right It is not clear to me whether Mr Jeub is an M theorist or is fabricating a fiction full of obscure ideas. As someone with a background in science writing you have the advantage. I have said above "I do not know if it is a non fiction or fabrication that makes an interesting collection of ideas brought together."
Mr Jeub has unfortunately not responded so has not explained the intention of this work himself.I have tried to reach out to him using both direct conversation and poetry.I have tried to ascertain Michael Jeub's intention by questioning what he is. I have said "Are you watching us drown like untrained rats in a water filled maze"... Perhaps that slipped you by . Meaning are you cruelly torturing the uninitiated with something very complex that they will not decipher. I also said "an omnipresent but inaccessible God of his own creation"...Meaning an academic who is completely detached from non specialists and is not available for communication with them.
I do hope that Michael Jeub's work is more than an anti establishment satire. I hope it is trying to say something about communication of ideas. At university I was told of the necessity of using appropriate scientific language. It divides "us from them". One particular word is still an annoyance to me. That is heterosis. We were told repeatedly to use it in preference to hybrid vigour. To my mind hybrid vigour is the superior expression because it does explain a concept rather than just being a mere label. Other words such as diakinesis have to be just labels because, describing a particular phase of a continuous process, it is like a place name. If it looks like that, it has this name. To describe what it is would take too long so a short hand is required. Too often scientist deliberately put up barriers to effective communication rather than trying to explain their work as lucidly as possible. Of course some technical language is require to avoid overly long simple English descriptions.
I find Michael Jeub's work to be at the other end of the spectrum to Michael Christian's competition entry. Called "Reality". While Mr Jeubs is extremely complex both in what it discusses and its presentation , Mr Christian's very simple.I really like both. That is not to say that I think they should score highly in the competition. I do not think they were entered with that intention.
As I said to Ray Monroe I think modeling in physics is rather like "Eternity 2", a board full of linked pieces looks good- but so does the empty board. Einstein said "Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler" where science is concerned it is perhaps the empty board and the simple poem that is the better.As in Eternity2 just because the pieces fit does not mean it is the correct solution.
I do not know if it was only intended as a satire. It is a pity if it is that alone, because it has been done before and so is unoriginal. I am making a real effort to read and appreciate to the best of my ability what other contributor's are saying in their competition entries. The only thing I feel bad out is your Anonymous patronizing comments.