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The "you learn limits in like, 9th grade" comment reminds me of this one: Two mathematicians are in a bar. The first one says to the second that the average pe
by whoisburbansky 6y ago
The "you learn limits in like, 9th grade" comment reminds me of this one:
Two mathematicians are in a bar. The first one says to the second that the average person knows very little about basic mathematics. The second one disagrees, and claims that most people can cope with a reasonable amount of math.
The first mathematician goes off to the washroom, and in his absence the second calls over the waitress. He tells her that in a few minutes, after his friend has returned, he will call her over and ask her a question. All she has to do is answer one third x cubed.
She repeats "one thir -- dex cue"?
He repeats "one third x cubed".
She says, "one thir dex cuebd"?
Yes, that's right, he says. So she agrees, and goes off mumbling to herself, "one thir dex cuebd...".
The first guy returns and the second proposes a bet to prove his point, that most people do know something about basic math. He says he will ask the blonde waitress an integral, and the first laughingly agrees. The second man calls over the waitress and asks "what is the integral of x squared?".
The waitress says "one third x cubed" and while walking away, turns back and says over her shoulder "plus a constant!"
- dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago> ask the blonde waitress an integral I know this is a fun thread, but in real life you could have serious problems if you tell this kind of jokes. To my fellow downvoters: I hate it as much as you do.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- selestify 6y agoAgreed. Although it should be fine if you know your audience and redact only as needed.
- yholio 6y agoWell, the joke is a play on those gender stereotypes, the blonde waitress clearly knows much more then even the optimistic mathematician expects. The butt of the joke here is the university system and the jobs market.
- dvfjsdhgfv 6y agoThat's true, but frankly, would you tell this joke during a conference? Personally, I'd prefer not to, even if it was relevant.
- frabert 6y agoThe joke is an explicit rejection of that particular trope, though.
- wruza 6y agoI think the idea is that the one who would feel offended by this joke, could also only see the trope and not the fact it was rejected. And if you dare to explain it, you automagically end up in a deadlock. It also unlocks the tactic “I will play dumb for a while so you don’t feel too smart anymore”. If you want to continue to do good, don’t open up for stupid attacks — politics 101.
- OJFord 6y agoDid you stop reading then? Because the actual joke is that even the guy that thought the average person numerate stereotyped her as dumb and was wrong. An absurd example of a 'blonde joke' to object to if you're going to.
- dvfjsdhgfv 6y agoThat's my very point: there are people who will find it offensive neverheless.
- littlestymaar 6y agoYou didn't understand the joke did you?
- polytely 6y agoSeems very unlikely? This joke is obviously punching up instead of punching down. Feel like a lot of people worried about cancel culture have some kind of bogeyman in their head that doesn't reflect reality at all. Even if that wasn't the case: the niche nature of the joke protects you against global outrage
- dvfjsdhgfv 6y agoI wish it was a bogeyman. The Donglegate happened because someone overheard a joke between two friends. Then people have been fired. I'm very, very careful about every joke I tell and who is around.
- StavrosK 6y agoI don't get it :( Did she know the answer? Then why the confusion at the start?
- OJFord 6y agoYeah that does push it a bit, but the joke is that she didn't understand what he was talking about with the 'onethirdxcubed', mis-parsing it without context. But when asked the integral, she knew the answer; not because she'd been told.
- StavrosK 6y agoAhh, thank you, that makes sense.
- randcraw 6y agoThe version of the joke I'd heard doesn't include the waitress' attempt to meaninglessly memorize the answer. She simply nods when initially tutored, then later surprises both mathematicians that "an average person" knows how to properly solve an integration problem without any help.
- StavrosK 6y agoI think that's a better version/telling.
- vram22 6y agoThen it could also almost be a joke about parsing and context-free grammars or such.
- 0xabe 6y agoOr in the beginning she’s playing dumb in condescension to the man. The man is trying to prove a point he doesn’t believe. He’s treating her as if she is dumb and doesn’t know the answer, but she does know, and in the end proves she knows it by providing a more complete answer than even the man himself. (You have to assume she knows about the question as the man is telling her the answer.)