When the U.K. newspaper the Sunday Times outed J.K. Rowling as the author of detective novel The Cuckoo's Calling earlier this year, computer scientists were among the first people called in. Although the novel was published under the pen name Robert Galbraith, two computational scholars––including Duquesne University's Patrick Juola––were tasked with confirming or denying whether the novel belonged to the Harry Potter author, or one of three other possible writers. That Juola succeeded (his conclusions were later confirmed by Rowling herself) speaks volume about the the potential that algorithms and computer science can have, even with application to a field as notoriously subjective as literature. Which raises an interesting question: Can we use software to help us think about literature? Reverse Engineering J.K. Rowling To explore that question, we should first look at how the Juola cracked Rowling's writing style. To begin the process, Juola loaded 1,000–word samples of The Cuckoo's Calling in to his self–designed Java Graphical Authorship Attribution Program (JGAAP), along with several other texts, including The Casual Vacancy, Rowling's first post–Harry Potter novel. A freely available Java–based, modular program for textual analysis, categorization, and authorship attribution, JGAAP analyzed the texts on four different variables: word–length distribution, the use of common words like "the" and "of," recurring–word pairings, and the distribution of "character... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
Studio advertises for British and Irish children aged 9-11 to play Hogwarts heroes in ‘decade-long’ TV adaptationsHBO has kicked off its search for the next Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, with the studio posting an open casting call for its forthcoming TV adaptation.The casting... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-09-10 22:39:27 UTC ]
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It’s almost Labor Day so the sales have started to trickle in. Here’s a cool one. A whole bunch of Lego sets are on sale for 25 percent off from, uh, Barnes & Noble. That may not make sense on paper, but we assure you that these discounts are very real. It’s tough to pick the “best”... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-08-26 15:23:20 UTC ]
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MultiVersus, the platform fighter that pulls from Warner Bros. properties, could be getting a whole bunch of new stages and characters, according to a report by Kotaku. This includes content from the film Barbie and the Mad Max universe, in addition to more Adventure Land stuff and a potential... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-07-24 16:22:51 UTC ]
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I reviewed Lev Grossman’s The Magicians when it was launched in 2009, with amazing timing: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book, was out in paperback, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was at last onscreen. Fans were bemoaning the coming Harry Potter vacuum. Grossman, at... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-07-23 08:55:43 UTC ]
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Imagine following Harry Potter’s adventures while the gothic library of Hogwarts glows in the background. Apple’s latest VR headset suggests that future may be near. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This week has felt like a month worth of news, now that we've wrapped up Apple's WWDC 2024 and Summer Game Fest in LA. In this episode, Cherlynn and Devindra discuss their final thoughts on Apple Intelligence and the company's upcoming software, and they chat about some of our coverage... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-14 11:30:57 UTC ]
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The Hogwarts sports game Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions now has a release date. The multiplayer title, announced last year, will arrive on PC and consoles on September 3. The game, a companion to last year’s Hogwarts Legacy, is “a complete, standalone Quidditch experience” that “engages... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-07 21:29:33 UTC ]
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When is a book not a book? When it is performed by a starry cast of hundreds. Except it has always been more complicated than thatNews this week of a 17% hike in the UK’s audiobook sales might seem like a niche business story, but it raises an existential question. What exactly is an audiobook... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-05-10 17:25:03 UTC ]
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'Blood at the Root,' LaDarrion Williams' first novel in a three-book deal — a series that centers on a Black boy in a YA fantasy saga — is the kind of fiction he wishes existed when he was a kid. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-05-03 10:00:51 UTC ]
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The books will be released sequentially, starting with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, with a full cast of yet-to-be-named actors and a ‘groundbreaking new soundscape’New audiobooks of all seven titles in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series will be released exclusively on Audible in late... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-04-25 16:37:29 UTC ]
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Author’s comments on Monday relating to trans women were posted as new hate crime law came into force in ScotlandComments by JK Rowling that described prominent transgender women activists as “men” will not be recorded as a non-crime hate incident, Police Scotland has said.The Harry Potter... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-04-03 19:08:34 UTC ]
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Next year, SenLinYu’s Harry Potter fic Manacled will disappear from Archive of Our Own. They don’t want to take it down, but it’s the only way to keep others from profiting off of the work. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2024-02-28 20:42:17 UTC ]
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Fans who were girls in the era of Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight are now the women who have powered the success of Barbie and the Eras Tour. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-02-18 19:51:27 UTC ]
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From fan fiction about Disney cartoons having sex to raunchy shows from Hollywood stars, pornographic audio is podcasting’s hottest new trendHave you ever stood at the school gates, waiting to pick up your six-year-old, while secretly listening to fan fiction about Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-02-12 16:32:24 UTC ]
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A Call of Duty game sells. That’s what it does. And it usually tops the sales charts, almost every year since 2009. However, last year was a bit different: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III landed in second place. To convey the gravitational pull of CoD, when Microsoft was fighting to buy... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-01-19 12:15:26 UTC ]
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Just like death and taxes, you can usually rely on a Call of Duty game to top the sales charts each year. The various entries in Activision’s warfare simulation franchise have mostly done just that, going all the way back to 2009. This year’s a bit different. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-01-18 19:16:41 UTC ]
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Investors seemed unimpressed but analysts say even talk of a merger reflects moves to consolidate in a tough market Barbie and Tom Cruise’s Top Gun are planning on getting hitched. Warner Bros Discovery, the Hollywood studio that brought us the Batman, Harry Potter and Barbie films, and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-12-21 17:19:19 UTC ]
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Amazon Web Services (AWS) just kicked off its Las Vegas-based re:Invent conference with a stream of announcements, most of which involve the year’s most popular technology, AI. These news items, taken as a whole, give us a sneak peek at the company’s long-term goals for... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-11-28 20:00:28 UTC ]
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After a series of delays, Hogwarts Legacy is now available for the Nintendo Switch console. The wizardly game was released in February for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, with the PS4 and Xbox One versions following in May. The Switch version was also expected during the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-11-14 19:21:59 UTC ]
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The Sonos Beam has been our top pick for compact soundbars for a while now. It offers a lot in a small package and the second-gen version also supports more immersive Dolby Atmos audio. The Beam doesn’t have any upfiring drivers though, so the impact of that spatial... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-11-09 18:30:45 UTC ]
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