• Captain Aggravated
    link
    fedilink
    English
    721 month ago

    A mathematician, a physicist and an engineer are led into a long room. At the other end stands a beautiful naked woman. “When I ring this bell,” she says" you may cross half the space between us. When I ring the bell again, you may again cross half the space between us." Both the mathematician and physicist groan and wander off. “Ah, it’s Zeno’s paradox, we can never actually reach her.” The engineer, waiting for the bell, says “I think I can get close enough.”

            • KillingTimeItself
              link
              fedilink
              English
              -11 month ago

              yeah but like, you don’t need to specify that one individual is naked. If that’s a required factoid of the statement, the engineer, mathematician, and physicist should also be naked. But there’s no mention of that.

              Now i don’t have much experience in relationships, particularly inter personal ones, but to my knowledge, you are generally clothed most of the time.

              • @Croquette@sh.itjust.works
                link
                fedilink
                English
                11 month ago

                You are overthinking it. This is just a premise to setup the joke that an engineer deals with approximation while the other two give up because they’ll never reach 0.

                It could be a bowl of ice cream for all that matters, but people like corny jokes, so that’s it.

                • KillingTimeItself
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  11 month ago

                  no i understood that part. Unless the naked woman has something to do with that part of the joke itself, then i don’t know why it’s mentioned.

            • KillingTimeItself
              link
              fedilink
              English
              -141 month ago

              no i just don’t fucking understand why the naked woman matters here.

              Could be fucking anything, a pile of a billion dollars. Three turtles, or a goat, it’s the same joke.

              • Captain Aggravated
                link
                fedilink
                English
                181 month ago

                I don’t think it’s the same joke when it’s three turtles or a goat, because the joke is “I think I can get close enough…to engage in unspecified sex acts with this woman.”

                You think the same chemicals that turned the frickin frogs gay is responsible for this aversion to sexual thoughts? “Could it not be a naked woman? That clutches my pearls.”

                • KillingTimeItself
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  -141 month ago

                  “I think I can get close enough…to engage in unspecified sex acts with this woman.”

                  that’s what i would assume, but then again it never states anything, so this is like walking into a fucking storage shed and seeing a colonoscopy going on. It’s just fucking weird.

                • KillingTimeItself
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  -21 month ago

                  i mean yeah, i guess so, but that’s not what im confused over.

                  I just want to know why specifically it was written with a nude woman? It never alluded to anything in particular.

                  • @Rev3rze@feddit.nl
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    131 month ago

                    Is it really that confusing? If it had said there was a pot of gold the implication is clear that the person who reaches it will be rich. You ask “why a nude woman?” and the answer is simply because, just like being rich, desiring a sexual partner is a common desire.

                  • Klnsfw 🏳️‍🌈
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    2
                    edit-2
                    1 month ago

                    I have friends who are engineers and whose job is to turn theoretical research into applied projects to find research grants for their team.

        • KillingTimeItself
          link
          fedilink
          English
          21 month ago

          and yelling at people who don’t understand, apparently.

          I’ve committed the most heinous of crimes according to the internet, not understanding the joke. Sorry i’m autistic lmao.

        • kronisk
          link
          fedilink
          English
          21 month ago

          So, I understand why there is a naked woman in the joke, what I don’t understand is her motivation.

          • KillingTimeItself
            link
            fedilink
            English
            11 month ago

            man i didn’t even fucking try asking that question, i was just concerned about the roots of the hypothetical presented.

      • @echolalia@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        -81 month ago

        Only straight men are mathematicians, physicists and engineers. This is why the joke is framed this way.

        See: responses from OP, valiantly defending his choice to “piss people off”, instead of noticing the joke is just yet another reminder that men are default.

        After all, sexism is over, and STEM isn’t hostile to women/non-heteronormative people. It’s all in our head.

        • @sorrybookbroke@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          9
          edit-2
          1 month ago

          Hi there friend, I am here to inform you that many woman also like the titty. Gay girls exist my friend, and the gender of the three professionals is never specified.

          I’ll assume ya ain’t trying to be homophobic my buddy but I hope you keep that in mind for future refference.

          Edit racism comment was another guy, sorry, very tired

          • @echolalia@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            -31 month ago

            I’m not going to spend much time engaging with your comment because you didn’t read mine well.

            I did not mention race.

            I included mention of gay folks (see non-heteronormative). The “joke” doesn’t work unless the stem major desires being very close to a naked woman, so I don’t find your mention of gay men to make sense.

            • @loaExMachina@sh.itjust.works
              link
              fedilink
              English
              -21 month ago

              You did a racism. You did an imperialism. You did a nationalism. You did a xenophobia. You did a white fragility. You did a weak apology. You did no growth. This makes it abundantly clear you don’t understand the intersectional nature of the multiplicity of your offenses

              /s

        • KillingTimeItself
          link
          fedilink
          English
          -6
          edit-2
          1 month ago

          that’s the vibe i’m getting, but it’s a really fucking weird premise for a hypothetical regardless.

          “there are a fisher, a farmer, and a welder in a bar, on the other side is cthulhu” is basically how it’s worded