What’s the French for Schadenfreude?
Once upon a time – in the summer of 2022 – I posted a silly little joke on Twitter (before I left there, obviously):
I thought a few people might find it funny, but it took off beyond my expectations. By my standards over 5000 “likes” counts as “going viral” (as you young people say). Most people saw the joke immediately – if you don’t get it, the image is of a slice of choriz,o not an astronomical object – and some even joined in with puns and other jokes. Even funnier, some respondents earnestly shared their devastating insight that it was chorizo (or some variant thereof). I honestly didn’t think anyone would think that I was seriously trying to pass it off as a JWST picture; it was just meant to be silly. But there you go. That’s Twitter. I should also report that some people looked at the rainbow flags in my profile and proceeded to indulge in some homophobic abuse. That’s Twitter too.
Anyway, the day after I posted the image it seems a prominent French physicist called Etienne Klein who has many times more Twitter followers than I ever did, posted an embellished version of the same joke.
To cut a long story short that led to ChorizoGate, a story which made it into numerous newspapers, from the Daily Star to The Times, and even got coverage on CNN News and the RTÉ website. More exciting and even Physics World! In nearly all the stories I’ve seen, the image, together with the JWST connection, is attributed to Étienne Klein who is apparently very well known in France as a popularizer of science in the French language. Because he writes and broadcasts in French he is not so well known outside France.
In a post on this affair at the time, I said
To be honest I’m quite relieved to have avoided the media notoriety surrounding ChorizoGate, especially as it means I’ve avoided being on the front page of the Daily Star! Dr Klein is welcome to the publicity, though perhaps it might backfire on him…
And backfire it has.
Étienne Klein’s appropriation of a silly joke was of no consequence, but at the time I couldn’t help wondering how someone who would do that might behave with things that actually matter. Now I know the answer, and it’s more than worrying. An investigation into the PhD thesis of Etienne Klein by Paris Cité University has concluded that there is extensive evidence of plagiarism in it. Who needs AI when you have Etienne Klein? The University has now decided to rescind Klein’s doctorate, which was awarded in 1999.
What’s the French for Schadenfreude?
In the Dark 
June 12, 2026 at 10:17 am
Allegations of plagiarism have followed him for 10 years:
https://www.science.org/content/article/popular-french-physicist-accused-plagiarizing-colleagues-and-famous-writers
June 22, 2026 at 12:47 pm
It’s surprising how many French philosophers are defending Klein.
Or perhaps it’s not.
June 22, 2026 at 2:50 pm
Given that most of them don’t believe there is any such thing as truth…
June 12, 2026 at 10:19 am
Just as DNA sequencing of stored samples is solving old murders and rapes, so can AI now check old theses for plagiarism. I wonder what well known names are quaking?
June 12, 2026 at 10:26 am
What you say is true for relatively recent theses, but older ones will generally not be available in digital form.
June 12, 2026 at 11:49 am
They’ll get digitised eventually.
June 12, 2026 at 11:52 am
I cannot envisage, even in a world of near infinite storage space, anyone bothering to digitise my thesis (which was typed). I see that you at least get credit for the chorizo joke on wikipedia.
June 12, 2026 at 11:23 am
@telescoper.blog CHEH
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 11:25 am
@telescoper.blog
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 1:14 pm
@f4grx @telescoper.blog THIS ☝️
(word)
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 2:51 pm
@montreuillois @telescoper.blog (salut ^^)
June 12, 2026 at 11:26 am
@telescoper.blog
LOL, LMAO even
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 12:14 pm
@telescoper.blog
I cant find a correct translation for schadenfreude.
The closer I would suggest is "revanche".
Poc :
@tract_linguistes
@MarCandea
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 13, 2026 at 8:42 am
@tanavit @telescoper.blog @tract_linguistes @MarCandea Schadenfreude is a perfect word on its own.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 12:14 pm
@telescoper.blog given his surname, the German word is sufficient?
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 1:08 pm
@telescoper.blog suddenly thinking of a person I knew who regularly posted things I'd made without attribution, mocked observations I'd made which I'd hear later had shown up in their work… 🤔
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 11:46 pm
@sinvega @telescoper.blog
Some people have never known the joy of having people, even like just a dozen people like their joke, or creative endeavor or find an idea they made exciting. They only know how to take something that might work and pretend it's their own.
And this keeps them from ever having the confidence or reason to ever come up with anything.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 13, 2026 at 10:08 am
@sinvega @telescoper.blog
"But you know how to make things. I can't do that."
A friend in university said something like this to me and it made me really sad, because it wasn't really true about him. And although it was kind of a compliment it was one that I didn't really want.
And it didn't really capture the truth. I don't have some power to make things that's special I fail a lot and I've had only modest successes. I believe that anyone could do this. You know?
June 13, 2026 at 10:29 am
@futurebird @sinvega @telescoper.blog
Been saying "I bet you could" for years. Most people can make cool things, but they seem to have been taught that only special people can make things.
Making things is fun even when it doesn't work
June 12, 2026 at 1:09 pm
@telescoper.blog une belle histoire
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 1:10 pm
@telescoper.blog This must be quite an old post? I'd be surprised anyone with 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ flags still uses Twitter. Maybe even anyone with a 🇪🇺 too.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 11:05 pm
@dusepo As @telescoper.blog said, “Once upon a time – in the summer of 2022”.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 1:10 pm
@telescoper.blog People knowing the concept use the word Schadenfreude even in french.
There is no direct translation for the word. However, Klein is well known for his use and abuse of uncommon vocabulary. He recently gave the word "ultracrepidarianism" a high media coverage as "the act of speaking about things you know nothing about". Ironically this describes him very well.
As we say in France "Qui fait le malin tombe dans le ravin" and it basically translates to "Fuck around and find out".
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 1:33 pm
@telescoper.blog #ALT4you
Screenshot of an tweet:
Peter Coles 🇮🇪🇪🇺🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
@ telescoper
« These #JWST images just get better and better…»
Below the text: a photography of a slice of chorizo with a black background, which kinda looks like a red planet with craters, or maybe a star
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 2:03 pm
@telescoper.blog joie mauvaise 😏
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 2:30 pm
@telescoper.blog Cheh
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 3:20 pm
@nemoudeis @telescoper.blog
bienfépoursagueule ?
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 2:56 pm
Because ‘chorizo’ means ‘separate’ (verb) in ancient Greek, I wondered how the sausage got its name. When I googled a decade ago, I was told that it is due to the separation of the meat and fat. But today AI tells me it comes from the Latin word salsicius, meaning “seasoned with salt”, which mysteriously evolved over the centuries of in the Iberian Peninsula. I don’t find either theory likely.
June 12, 2026 at 6:11 pm
I’m not totally convinced but the loss of an l in the middle of a word is quite a common phonetic shift when latin words got absorbed into e.g. French. I think salsicius is the root of “sausage”.
June 12, 2026 at 4:01 pm
@Meeea tel le chorizo, ça pique.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 5:51 pm
@telescoper.blog « You wouldn't steal a joke … oh wait, yes, he totally would »
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 6:11 pm
@telescoper.blog 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 7:46 pm
It’s worth mentioning that “Arrêt sur images” who broke the story about the thesis emailed a link to me directly, which was nice of them.
June 12, 2026 at 8:41 pm
@telescoper.blog chorizo-gate 😂
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 10:45 pm
@telescoper.blog " a prominent French physicist called Etienne Klein"
He is not a physicist, he has a phd in philosophy of science (and a master in engineering) even that is fake 🙄
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 13, 2026 at 9:33 am
@uxor @telescoper.blog
He is an Engineer specialized in Physics of Matter from Ecole Centrale Paris, which is one of the most prestigious scientific schools in France. Besides his engineering degree he also has a Master in Theoretical Physics.
He also has vast experience working with CEA (Atomic Energy Comission), CERN, he participated in the conception of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider).
So, yes he is a physicist. The Phd in Philosophy was just an extra thing he did.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 11:27 pm
@telescoper.blog "barley" in Sumerian.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 12, 2026 at 11:59 pm
@telescoper.blog mars looks unbelievably tasty…
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 13, 2026 at 12:42 am
@telescoper.blog Ah, a nice picture of Chorizo Major!
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 13, 2026 at 6:36 am
@telescoper.blog
Thanks for thé story
There is a Wikipedia page https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 13, 2026 at 8:49 am
@telescoper.blog
I, for one, still insist that this famous astronomical photo is really a slice of some sort of sausage.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 13, 2026 at 9:21 am
@telescoper.blog That was the funniest thing I had seen in a while back then.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 13, 2026 at 2:39 pm
@telescoper.blog That was you? Thank you for the lolsery around this.
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 13, 2026 at 4:14 pm
@telescoper.blog thank you!
Whilst I can not read (or translate) the whole of the linked article, I can read this one from 2024:
Étienne Klein, une thèse constellée de plagiats – Par Loris Guémart | Arrêt sur images
https://www.arretsurimages.net/articles/etienne-klein-une-these-constellee-de-plagiats
Étienne Klein, a thesis dotted with plagiarism – By Loris Guémart | Stop on images
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 15, 2026 at 12:40 am
@telescoper.blog If I had a penny for every time a French science communicator's PhD was bullshit, I'd have 3 pennies
How odd
Remote Reply
Original Comment URL
Your Profile
Why do I need to enter my profile?
This site is part of the ⁂ open social web, a network of interconnected social platforms (like Mastodon, Pixelfed, Friendica, and others). Unlike centralized social media, your account lives on a platform of your choice, and you can interact with people across different platforms.
By entering your profile, we can send you to your account where you can complete this action.
June 24, 2026 at 8:25 pm
[…] However, according to Peter Coles, the joke wasn’t even original. It was a repeat of a joke he had made the day before, also on Twitter. […]