Mathematicians (of any competent sort) are like writers: they believe that they can describe almost anything. This study is an exercise in write about using math to describe a love story:

“A mathematical model of ‘Gone with the Wind’“, Sergio Rinaldi [pictured here], Fabio Della Rossa, Pietro Landi, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Volume 392, Issue 15, 1 August 2013, Pages 3231–3239. (Thanks to investigator Dan Vergano for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria, explain:

“We develop a mathematical model for mimicking the love story between Scarlett and Rhett described in ‘Gone with the Wind‘. In line with tradition in classical physics, the model is composed of two Ordinary Differential Equations, one for Scarlett and one for Rhett, which encapsulate their main psycho-physical characteristics. The two lovers are described as so-called insecure individuals because they respond very strongly to small involvements of the partner but then attenuate their reaction when the pressure exerted by the partner becomes too high. These characteristics of Scarlett and Rhett clearly emerge during the first part of the film and are sufficient to develop a model that perfectly predicts the complex evolution and the dramatic end of the love story. Since the predicted evolution of the romantic relationship is a direct consequence of the characters of the two individuals, the agreement between the model and the film supports the high credibility of the story.”

Here’s detail from the study:

BONUS: A glimpse of the movie:

Dwight Howard has left the Los Angeles Lakers and is joining the Houston Rockets to seek out being the face of the franchise and "unconditional love" -- something Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were reluctant to give him, according to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski's latest column.

That January in-house team meeting in Memphis? Bryant confronted Howard and made it clear every negative thing he said about the Lakers' leading man, every impersonation Howard made when he wasn't around, came back to him.

Bryant had "come to rage" against the idea of Howard's "clownish" disposition taking hold of the Lakers' culture and warned Howard he would "never, ever let it happen", writes Wojnarowski, giving more insight as to what occurred during the meeting.

When it was first reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times few details of the meet were reported. It was known, however, that Bryant asked Howard directly if he was bothered by the fact that he can be "hard to play with." Howard's answer was "unclear", and a witness in the meeting claimed he "didn't go back at Kobe."

A source who was in the room told Wojnarowski that he doesn't believe "anyone had ever talked to [Howard]" the way Bryant did during the meeting.

There were doubts from Lakers players, coaches and even opponents that Howard was playing with the "proper purpose and passion."

"With Dwight, he has to be the face of the franchise. Anything less than that, and it would be difficult for him to function at his highest level," a league official with prior ties to Howard told Wojnarowski.

There was a clear disconnect between Kobe Bryant's vision of what the Lakers are about and what Dwight Howard wanted to be. Ultimately, Howard decided to leave that conflict behind, and perhaps Bryant's clear and direct declaration he can play "at a high level" for three more years served as the final push for Howard to head out to Texas.

- Drew

- Follow this author on Twitter @DrewGarrisonSBN

“I just don’t know how to slide. I’m trying to get there. I just want to be safe. So, however I can get there, I just try to get it done.”  - Prince Fielder

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(Chicago, Illinois) Independent hip hop artist Sweet Juices returns to IHH with her new joint “Tip Top”. It’s on IHH so I fux wit it.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Braun Couple of Dudes.

Wear the old coat and buy the new book.

—Austin Phelps

When I tell people I run a bookshop, they often respond with envy or admiration. But first, a funny look flashes across their face—sometimes fleeting, sometimes not. A look that says, Poor girl. A look that says, She must be daft.

I am not daft. It’s no secret that the bookstore industry is in trouble, and, six months into this experiment, I still don’t know if this dream is viable. Aside from the question of whether people will buy books or will simply use the shop to browse and then order from Amazon when they get home—or, as Michele Figlate’s fantastic Center For Fiction piece flays, order from their iPhone on the spot using our free Wi-Fi—there are the more prosaic reasons I may not be cut out to run a small business, like quarterly taxes and mopping the floor. But people’s love of books is not something I lose much sleep over.

I’m a romantic, but I’m also a pragmatist. I did not openMoody Road Studios and assume it would pay my home mortgage or student loan, or even for my dark chocolate habit. Like many writers, I survive by keeping a dozen lines in the water. So I write. And edit. And review. And copyedit. And teach. I love each of these things and feel fortunate to be able to do work that I love and get paid for it. And I knew that in order to open this shop, I would need to continue to do all of these things in order to make it work. I won’t necessarily make money, but I can’t afford to lose any money either. Read More »

BBC Two has ordered Legacy, a one-off movie that will slot into its Cold War Moment block. Written by Paula Milne and directed by Pete Travis, the spy thriller reteams the duo whose 2009 apartheid drama Endgame won a Peabody Award. Boardwalk Empire‘s Charlie Cox, The Hour‘s Romola Garai, Sherlock‘s Andrew Scott and My Week With Marilyn‘s Simon Russell Beale are starring in the film that’s based on Alan Judd’s 2001 book. The story is set in 1970s London during the height of the Cold War when a young spy discovers the disturbing truth about his father’s complex past. Travis directed last year’s Dredd and scripted Sean Penn-starrer The Gunman. Crawford Collins, Milne and Judd are exec producing Legacy for Slim Film + Television; Lucy Richer is exec producer for the BBC and Rob Bullock is producer.