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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.