November 25, 2007

Cat conversation and sexism in the algorithm.

Two cats are having a conversation. It's uncanny:



Let's see that cat talk translated into English:



Ha ha. I love it. Why did I run across that today?

I was writing the previous post about Hillary Clinton and "the boys" who allegedly bullied her, and one of the news articles linked to this Clinton campaign video:



YouTube has a sidebar showing links to more videos — presumably videos that have some relationship to the video you just watched. How is YouTube calculating these relationships? Something about a "cat fight"? Is there sexism in the algorithm?

7 comments:

Caroline said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fred said...

That's pretty sad, a bunch of 'pussies' are in a serious position to threaten the 'patriots'. God help us all.

Trooper York said...

Old Deuteronomy: With cats, some say one rule is true: don't speak 'til you are spoken to. Myself, I do not hold with that. I say you should address a cat, but always keep in mind that he resents familiarity. You bow, and taking off your hat, address him in this form: O, Cat!
(Cats, The Musical)

Palladian said...

Probably the word "talking", forms of which appear in the title of the cat video and in the soundtrack of the Clinton video. The algorithm (which now definitely includes the Google algorithm, since they own YouTube) takes into account the appearance of similar words but above all popularity. People who watched one of those watched the other during the same session; that along with the inclusion of the same word in both is enough linkage between the two for the algorithm.

Ann Althouse said...

"`Would it be of any use, now,' thought Alice,`to speak to this mouse? Everything is so out-of-the-way down here, that I should think very likely it can talk: at any rate, there's no harm in trying.' So she began: `O Mouse, do you know the way out of this pool? I am very tired of swimming about here, O Mouse!' (Alice thought this must be the right way of speaking to a mouse: she had never done such a thing before, but she remembered having seen in her brother's Latin Grammar, `A mouse--of a mouse--to a mouse--a mouse--O mouse!') The Mouse looked at her rather inquisitively, and seemed to her to wink with one of its little eyes, but it said nothing."

Trooper York said...

Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.
Alice: And how do you know that you're mad?
The Cat: To begin with, a dog's not mad. You grant that?
Alice: I suppose so,
The Cat: Well, then, you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad.
Alice: But why do they write these nasty notes.
The Cat: Because they are mad, and bored and self-indulgent. Sort of like rats trapped in a maze of self importance and self-righteousness.
Alice: So they are both Cats and Rats?
The Cat: Except for Maxine. She's Bats.
(Alice in Wonderland)

rhhardin said...

People would hardly need to say a word if they had tails.