Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/17/84; site milford.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!harvard!talcott!panda!genrad!decvax!ittatc!milford!bill From: bill@milford.UUCP (bill) Newsgroups: net.jokes Subject: Re: offensive to mathematicians (and engineers too, I suppose) Message-ID: <104@milford.UUCP> Date: Tue, 20-Aug-85 10:21:40 EDT Article-I.D.: milford.104 Posted: Tue Aug 20 10:21:40 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 23-Aug-85 20:51:04 EDT References: <1451@vax3.fluke.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Telecomp,Inc. , Milford Ct. Lines: 24 > > The physicist woke up, took note of the fire, and quickly made some > observations and measurements. Using the back the hotel's wine list, the > physicist made a few quick calculations and then, grabbing a fire > extinguisher, aimed one short burst at the flames, putting the fire out. > The physicist then crawled back into the dry bed and went to sleep. > > The engineer woke up, took note of the fire, and quickly made some observations > and measurements. Using the back a rather seamy magazine, the engineer made a > few quick calculations and then, grabbing a fire extinguisher, throughly > hosed down the room, putting the fire out. The engineer then crawled > back into the wet bed and went to sleep, dreaming about the seamy magazine. > > The mathematician woke up, took note of the fire, and quickly made some > observations and measurements. Using some chalk and the wall of the room, > the mathematician made a few quick calculations. Exclaiming "A solution > exists!", the mathematician then crawled back into the dry bed and > went to sleep. > The way I heard it, the mathematician smelt the smoke from the smoldering fire (which had been extinguished by his friends), fanned the embers into a roaring inferno, mumbled something about "... reducing to a previously solved problem" and went back to sleep.