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Quiz about Pataphysics
Quiz about Pataphysics

'Pataphysics! Trivia Quiz


So what the heck is 'pataphysics anyway? Take this quiz and find out!

A multiple-choice quiz by qmwne. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
qmwne
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
252,119
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
810
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. 'Pataphysics is a branch of philosophy founded by which French author of "Ubu Roi"? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The author once said that 'pataphysics is the study of everything lying beyond which of these fields? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Which of these is not a real department at the London Institute of 'Pataphysics? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Which of these Beatles songs mentions 'pataphysics? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. True or False: The word 'pataphysics has an apostrophe on the beginning of it because the apostrophe was the author's favorite form of punctuation.


Question 6 of 10
6. Which of these writers is or was not a member of the Paris-based "College de 'pataphysique"? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. What French literary organization, an acronym for "Ouvroir de literature potentielle" (Workshop of Potential Literature), was founded as a subcommittee to the College de 'pataphysique'?

Answer: (One Word;)
Question 8 of 10
8. Which of these countries does not contain an organization affiliated with 'pataphysics? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What is a correct term for a practitioner of 'pataphysics? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Thinking about the question in a straightforward and wholly un-'pataphysical viewpoint, which of these is farthest from being a practitioner of 'pataphysics? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. 'Pataphysics is a branch of philosophy founded by which French author of "Ubu Roi"?

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."
2. The author once said that 'pataphysics is the study of everything lying beyond which of these fields?

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.
3. Which of these is not a real department at the London Institute of 'Pataphysics?

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.
4. Which of these Beatles songs mentions 'pataphysics?

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.
5. True or False: The word 'pataphysics has an apostrophe on the beginning of it because the apostrophe was the author's favorite form of punctuation.

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).
6. Which of these writers is or was not a member of the Paris-based "College de 'pataphysique"?

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).
7. What French literary organization, an acronym for "Ouvroir de literature potentielle" (Workshop of Potential Literature), was founded as a subcommittee to the College de 'pataphysique'?

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.
8. Which of these countries does not contain an organization affiliated with 'pataphysics?

Answer: Papua New Guinea

'Pataphysics has spread internationally over time, but especially over the last forty years.
9. What is a correct term for a practitioner of 'pataphysics?

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.
10. Thinking about the question in a straightforward and wholly un-'pataphysical viewpoint, which of these is farthest from being a practitioner of 'pataphysics?

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.
Source: Author qmwne

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