[Todos] Dubuc's upturning point

[fvicent en dm.uba.ar]

David K. Smith
University of Exeter

Moshe Sniedovich
Melbourne University

Dear David and Moshe:
Subject: Dubuc's upturning point

After I got my Masters in 1963 I worked as an operations research
practitioner for 30 years in industrial concerns, mainly chemical and
steel-making factories. In the nineties, winds from the north brought upon
my country an economical malady known as the  NEOLIB2, a strong strain of 
a virus  cultivated by the Chicago Boys. Hundreds of thousands were laid
off from industry and commerce. This upheaval forced me to reenter in my
alma mater the well known Academy of Lagado in the Kingdom of Laputa.
Therein I lectured on Combinatorial Optimization, Graph Theory and the
like.

But something mysterious has happened in the academy in the intervening 50
years since I had gotten my diploma. We are further off upon the clouds,
terra firma cannot be seen clearly anymore. My colleagues are writing
papers at a fantastic speed. Just to give you an idea, a baby professor
just out of his mother's womb would publish as many papers in a single
year as my late thesis advisor Dr Strangelove in his whole life.  Let us
consider this problem scientifically and define

f(t) = number of papers per capita of our faculty in solar year t

If you would consider the graph of function f(t) in the interval 1963 < t
< 2009 you would observe that f is a constant up to 1994 and then jumps
crazily until it gets to a new constant value wherein it remains up to the
present. What the heck has happened in the neighborhood of 1994? For
further reference let me call this phenomenon "Dubuc's upturning point".

Mind you, the form of f(t) as well  Dubuc's point is a conjecture. A
colleague of mine Eduardo Dubuc posited the conjecture, and he would like
me to gather the data to confirm his suspicion. I am willing to do the job
but I would like first to consult both of you on this matter. Do you feel
that something like this has happened in England or Australia?

Best wishes,

Fabio