Comments on: Book cites

By: Zizka

Zizka — Wed, 29 Oct 2003 05:13:36 +0000

I occasionally Google myself when bored and slightly drunk, so the Amazon is a welcome supplement. I, personally, showed up exactly once in a diligent search. Progress. The most famous me was the owner of Dred Scott in the famous XIX c. legal case (hiss). Next most famous is the film-director husband of Anita Loos (OK). Next, a shady Clintonista politician (hiss). Then there’s someone who’s involved in Human Rights Watch (hurrah). Oddly, there are two scholars in my Asian Studies field with approximately my name, one a Japanologist and the other a Sinologist who fell victim to McCarthy. (He spelled his name differently, though). Note: my name isn’t Zizka. Jan Zizka was a Hussite military leader who held off the evil Holy Roman Empire empire for decades. There remain a lot of real Zizkas in the world, but I beat them all in the Google standings.

By: Brian Weatherson

Brian Weatherson — Tue, 28 Oct 2003 16:54:05 +0000

The search is also easier for the ‘Weatherson’s of the world. I was shocked to see that one (of two) uses of my name was in a fictional business-school example. It’s a pretty rare name, so I’m a bit puzzled about how the author would have come up with it.

By: Chris Bertram

Chris Bertram — Tue, 28 Oct 2003 15:18:21 +0000

As in Evans the milk, Jones the fish, and Davies the nonergodic process…

By: dsquared

dsquared — Tue, 28 Oct 2003 14:58:25 +0000

It’s Welsh (like “Jones”, the number 2 name after Smith), and fourth most popular was an “estimate”. (Although not a bad one; apparently “Davis”, the Anglicised form, is sixth most popular in the USA)

By: Invisible Adjunct

Invisible Adjunct — Tue, 28 Oct 2003 14:22:29 +0000

No, you’re not the only one, Eszter. I’ve already searched for my name at amazon (and I’ve googled myself too). Is Davies the fourth most common surname in the English-speaking world? Isn’t it Scottish? And how many of them most common surnames are Scottish in origin?

By: dsquared

dsquared — Tue, 28 Oct 2003 07:00:08 +0000

I would imagine that this might be a tad more useful for the Hargittais and Runnacleses of this world than we poor buggers lumbered with the fourth most common surname in the English-speaking world.

By: eszter

eszter — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 21:23:19 +0000

Of course that part is about vanity, no offense taken at your comment.:) I doubt I’d be the only one to try out the feature in that way though.;)

By: jdsm

jdsm — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 20:37:40 +0000

Vanity dressed up as procrastination I say (rather meanly but then it’s late where I am). Still, you can only google yourself so many times can’t you.