# The Witch of Agnesi Project **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-witch-of-agnesi-project/424733 "2007-10-31T16:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-witch-of-agnesi-project/424733/1 "2007-10-31T16:47:56Z")
I made up a sweatshirt with this on it, making the design and typeface resemble those for **The Blair Witch Project**. I even made the geometric construction used for the WoA look like that “hanged man” glyph they used in the Blair Witch logo. [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blair_Witch_Project.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blair_Witch_Project.jpg) > **[Witch of Agnesi -- from Wolfram MathWorld](https://mathworld.wolfram.com/WitchofAgnesi.html)** > > The "witch of Agnesi" is a curve studied by Maria Agnesi in 1748 in her book Instituzioni analitiche ad uso della gioventù italiana (the first surviving mathematical work written by a woman). The curve is also known as cubique d'Agnesi or agnésienne,... [http://xahlee.org/SpecialPlaneCurves\_dir/WitchOfAgnesi\_dir/witchOfAgnesi.html](http://xahlee.org/SpecialPlaneCurves_dir/WitchOfAgnesi_dir/witchOfAgnesi.html) I got ZERO reaction. Nada. Zip. Zilch. I’ve worn the shirt to MIT. I’ve worn it at Science Fiction Conventions. I’m wearing it today at work. Nobody even looks twice (and I may not be able to detect feminine interest, but I can tell when someone’s looking at my shirt). Is this just TOO esoteric? Or do people who know what it’s about and see the shirt just think that it’s a stupid idea? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-witch-of-agnesi-project/424733/2 "2007-10-31T16:54:23Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Is this just TOO esoteric? [/QUOTE] For me? Yes. But I learned a little today, which is cool! 😉 When _Kill Bill_ was a brand new movie, I had a friend make me a T-Shirt that read (in a cool font) **Wiggle your big toe**. About one person in seven thousand got the reference. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-witch-of-agnesi-project/424733/3 "2007-10-31T23:49:39Z")
I have a BS in math, and it never came up in class. I would never have known what it was if I hadn’t happened upon it one day in a section of the CRC Handbook. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-witch-of-agnesi-project/424733/4 "2007-10-31T23:55:29Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Is this just TOO esoteric? [/QUOTE] Probably a bit. We studied this curve in maths at school, but I doubt that it’s widely known. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-witch-of-agnesi-project/424733/5 "2007-11-01T00:04:45Z")
Yeah, that one’s pretty esoteric. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-witch-of-agnesi-project/424733/6 "2007-11-01T01:09:09Z")
Another vote for pretty obscure. I recognised the name in the thread title and am familiar with it as an odd bit of mathematical folklore, but I was never taught anything about it, nor have I ever seen the curve come up anywhere in practice. So not something I’d assume that another mathematically knowledgeable person had necessarily run into. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-witch-of-agnesi-project/424733/7 "2007-11-01T13:41:37Z")
I’m not surprised that is sailed right over my head but it _is_ a bit shocking that the folks at M.I.T. didn’t pick up on it. It’s pretty clever though. 🙂