'Pataphysics! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alfred Jarry

Alfred Jarry (1873-1907) was quite possibly the weirdest French writer of his day. His works are considered the forerunners of Absurdism and Dada, which is perhaps most evident in his three plays about the character "Pere Ubu".

In "Ubu Cucu", Ubu describes himself as a 'pataphysician, saying, "'Pataphysics is a branch of science which we have invented and for which a crying need is generally experienced."

Answer: Metaphysics

'Pataphysics is a deliberate mockery of modern philosophy, in the same way that Dada is a mockery of modern art. Some sources define it as the "study of everything", which is a bit too broad.

Jarry himself described it as "[...] the science of imaginary solutions, which symbolically attributes the properties of objects, described by the virtuality, to their lineaments."

Sure.

Answer: Department of Hagiography

The institute was founded in 2000 to study 'pataphysics. Of course, the departments study some odd topics. The departments not mentioned were the Bureau for the Investigation of Subliminal Images, the
Department of Reconstructive Archaeology, and the Department of Dogma and Theory. The Department of Potassons, perhaps the strangest branch, has the duty of satirizing the other departments.

So what contributions has 'pataphysics made? One of the main contributions it made to the English language was the pataphor, invented by Pablo Lopez.

Metaphor: Mary was a young sapling, blowing to and fro amidst the hurricane of peer pressure.

Pataphor: Mary was a young sapling whose friends blew her to and fro until she was uprooted from the ground and died of lack of nutrients and dehydration.

The difference is that the pataphor actually changed the context.

Answer: Maxwell's Silver Hammer

The exact lyrics are:

"[...] was quizzical,
Studied 'pataphysical science in the home."

It is important to keep in mind that the exact wording of the song is up to interpretation; this is just the most common one.

Answer: False

The apostrophe was added to "avoid a simple pun", as Jarry put it. The word first appeared in Jarry's article "Guignol".

The pun has been interpreted as "patte a physique" (leg of physics), "pas ta physique" (not your physics), or "Pate a physique" (physics dough).

Answer: Albert Camus

The college is a group of artists interested in 'pataphysics. Its motto is, "Eadem mutata resurgo", or "I arise again the same though changed".

Some of its members and their positions are:
Noël Arnaud (Regent of General 'Pataphysics and Clinic of Rhetoriconosis, Major Confirmant of the Order of the Grand Gidouille)
Luc Étienne (Regent)
Latis (Private General Secretary to the Baron Vice-Curator)
François Le Lionnais (Regent)
Jean Lescure (Regent of Anabathmology)
Raymond Queneau (Transcendent Satrap).

Answer: Oulipo

Oulipo is a gathering of writers and mathematicians who create constrained writing techniques. It contains such notable novelists as Georges Perec and Italo Calvino. A typical representation of this type of writing includes Perec's "A Void", which is written without the letter "e".

Various other organizations with similar names to Oulipo are affiliated with the philosophy, but none stand for exactly the same thing.

Answer: Papua New Guinea

'Pataphysics has spread internationally over time, but especially over the last forty years.

Answer: 'Pataphysician

There is one other possible answer which I didn't include as a choice, 'pataphysicist.

Even such people as Eugene Ionesco, Joan Miro, and Asger Jorn have been described as 'pataphysicists.

Answer: Paul Erdos

All the incorrect answers actually are affiliated with 'pataphysics in some way. Eco is actually a satrap of the London Institute of 'Pataphysics. Duchamp is a Dadaist, and Dada is actually very similar to 'pataphysics. Many of Rube Goldberg's machines have been described as 'pataphysical.