New York can't be a human strange attractor

In the latest news from the world of science — which I could not read in any detail without trying to, afterwards, search for the same news piece from a freer to access source (I originally saw the news as part of a clickbait scheme) — University of Chicago astrophysicists Megan Mansfield, PhD, and Darryl Seligman, have configured an algorithm to detect the mood of Taylor Swift within her music.

They analysed over 149 Taylor Swift songs to decode Swift's emotions, and compiled their results in a research paper entitled, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, "I Knew You Were Trouble: Emotional Trends in the Repertoire of Taylor Swift".

After combing through almost 10 hours of music with the algorithm analysing Swift's feelings toward what they originally defined as the "male in question", or the variable they called MIQ, they discovered that Taylor Swift's MIQ isn't always male, it could be New York, Selena Gomez, a long time close friend, or even her former rival, Katy Perry.

Why, you might ask, but only from an ectojournalist like myself, would astrophysicists be interested in stuff psychologists should be analysing, if only they were half as good as they make you believe they are?

Reason number one, is because like just about everyone else who is broke today, looking for a new job, or new income streams and/or opportunities, just adding the name "Taylor Swift" to a research paper can give the work extra attention, extra gravitas, and that can add bonuses in terms of scientific fame, or bonuses to the economic bottom line.

Reason number two, is that you don't have to be an astrophysicist, or even a genius to be able detect that Taylor Swift is not indifferent towards women, at least emotionally, so the researchers had additional factors that could help them in validating their findings. In real estate, only three things matter: location; location; and location. In original research, on the other hand, only these three things matter: interpretation of the data; interpretation of the data; and yes, you guessed it, interpretation of the data.

Reason number three, astrophysicists have the computers, some even know how to program them, or can find very quickly a friend who does, and know enough about physics (sound) to be able to analyse music.

Reason number four, can only come from an ectojournalist, who can be classified as a natural mathematician: the researchers have simply detected a strange attractor in Taylor Swift's life, especially Taylor Swift's most recent music.

Unlike a system with many variables, unlike random systems, which can only be simulated with tricks, like using the billions of non-repetitive digits of pi (π), chaos, while complex, actually has its own pattern, a peculiar, or simply hard to detect kind of order. This pattern is known mathematically as a strange attractor, because the chaotic system seems to be strangely attracted to an ideal behaviour.

Some of the researcher's findings are not particularly brilliant: Swift is happier in stronger relationships.

However, they also detected that she's unhappier with partners who have blue eyes.

In the end, a tool was developed called "taylorswift", in the Python programming language, where users can enter their current mood, and relationship status, and a list of five Taylor Swift songs will be given to match their mood. Clearly the researchers knew they could also "sell" their research to Taylor Swift fans, and/or attract websites like YouTube.

Clearly, however, while working with music, and on someone as famous as Taylor Swift, does have its benefits, it is clear that the researchers were trying to find out who the "male in question", or who the more complex variable they called MIQ is, like lots of lonely male heterosexuals, or lonely lesbians or ambisexual — alternative to bisexual in ⓔ — females have been trying to do for years (the mainstream media has made a separate small business enterprise out of this), and perhaps they thought they could pin it down to a single man, but they couldn't.

I'm sure English actor Joe Alwyn, who Taylor Swift has been dating for the past almost five years, and who seems also naturally talented as a musician, is probably at least her "most (significant, non-feline, non-affectionate female) in question", or the M(SNFNAF)IQ in her life, but as you can see from the acronym, a strange attractor MIQ can even be sensed by a really good mathematician, but cannot be identified, and the two researchers tried really hard, because that would have made the research even more interesting.

It seems that the strange attractor, in the end, could be male or female, a friend or even a rival, but "New York" is clearly the strangest thing in that data set, also because in the COVID-19 era, it is not a particularly attractive place to visit. Yes, it is true that Taylor Swift also has a home in New York City, but she also has scattered real estate elsewhere all over the US, and in the COVID-19 era, probably spends most of her time in either Nashville, Tennessee, or Los Angeles, California anyway. You can't even have the big parties Taylor Swift probably used to have in NYC nowadays.

New York can't be a human strange attractor. It can only be professionally attractive as a market, at best, and to a real estate agent.

MT Kaisiris Tallini

University Of Chicago Astrophysicists Detects The ‘Emotional Trends In Taylor Swift Songs

https://www.wccq.com/university-of-chicago-astrophysicists-detects-the-emotional-trends-in-taylor-swift-songs/

I Knew You Were Trouble: Emotional Trends in the Repertoire of Taylor Swift

https://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=25880823

Mansfield et Seligman's research paper (PDF)

http://5wcwiki.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/143834076/i-knew-you-were-trouble-mansfield-et-seligman.pdf