In 2010, Ben Tilly of the blog Random Observations wrote\xa0Analysis Vs. Algebra Predicts Eating Corn?, which said:
I like learning about odd connections between disparate things. This probably is the oddest example that I know.
Broadly speaking, mathematicians can be divided into those who like analysis, and those who like algebra. The distinction between the two types runs throughout math. Even those who work in areas that are far from analysis or algebra are very aware of the difference between them, and usually are very clear on which their preference is. I\u2019ll delve into this in more depth soon, but for now let\u2019s just take it for granted that this is a well-known distinction, and it has meaning for mathematicians.
Back when I was in grad school there was a department lunch with corn on the cob. Partway through the meal one of the analysts looked around the room and remarked, \u201cThat\u2019s odd, all of the analysts are eating corn one way and the algebraists are eating corn another!\u201d Everyone looked around. In fact everyone was eating the corn in one of two ways. One way was to munch over the length of the corn in a straight line, back up, turn slightly, and do another row across. Kind of like how an old typewriter goes. The other way was to go around in a spiral. All of the analysts were eating in spirals, and the algebraists in rows.
There were a number of mathematicians present whose fields of study didn\u2019t make it clear whether they were on the analysis or algebra side of things. We went around and asked, and in every case the way they ate corn matched their preference. Since then I\u2019ve made a point of amusing myself by asking mathematicians I meet whether they prefer algebra or analysis, and then predicting which way they will eat corn. I\u2019m probably up to 40 or so by now, and in every case but one I\u2019ve been able to correctly predict how they eat corn. The one exception was a logician who claimed to be exactly on the fence between the two. When I explained the corn thing to him he looked surprised, and said that he had an unusual way of eating corn. He went in loose spirals! In other words he truly was a perfect combination of algebra and analysis!