Multiple Choice: Which of the following is the most different from the others?

Joke Poo: Code Review

Multiple Choice: Which of the following is most likely to cause a production outage at 3 AM?

(A) A senior developer pushing directly to main.

(B) A junior developer’s first attempt at asynchronous programming.

(C) A misconfigured Kubernetes cluster.

(D) A plate of lukewarm gas station sushi.

---

Answer: (D) – the other three can all be rolled back with a well-defined process (maybe).

Alright, let’s break down this joke and see what comedic gold we can mine.

Joke Dissection:

• Core Mechanic: The joke relies on a bait-and-switch. The question is framed to suggest a difference based on academic discipline (content, methodology, etc.). However, the punchline abruptly pivots to a completely unrelated, pragmatic, and frankly, basic criteria: edibility and quantity.
• Humor Source: The humor comes from the incongruity of the expected answer versus the actual answer. It’s absurd to compare advanced degrees based on their ability to feed a family. This unexpected shift in perspective is what makes it funny.
• Key Elements:
  • Academic Titles (PhD in various fields)
  • The implication of Intellectual comparison
  • Food (Pizza)
  • Domestic practicality (feeding a family)
  • The surprise juxtaposition of these elements.

Comedic Enrichment: Ideas & Jokes

Here are a few ideas riffing on the original joke:

1. A “Did You Know?” Observation:

“Did you know that while a PhD in mathematics can’t feed a family of four, the sheer amount of student loan debt incurred obtaining it can induce enough anxiety to suppress their appetites for weeks!”

2. A Parallel Joke Structure (applied to a new field):

“Multiple Choice: Which of the following is the most different from the others?

(A) An Impressionist Painting
(B) A Baroque Sculpture
(C) A Renaissance Fresco
(D) An Unpaid Invoice

Answer: (D) – the others can all be partially obscured by a strategically placed houseplant.”

3. A Meta-Joke about Joke Analysis:

“I’ve analyzed this joke about the PhDs and the pizza, and my conclusion is: a PhD in Comedy Theory is objectively the least useful of all, since no one ever asks you to analyze whether a joke can feed a family, unless you’re trapped in a very specific type of logic puzzle designed to create maximum existential dread.”

4. Adding a layer of dark humor

“Multiple Choice: Which of the following is the most different from the others?

(A) A PhD in Biology
(B) A PhD in Mathematics
(C) A PhD in Statistics
(D) A large pepperoni pizza

Answer: (D) – the others all require years of soul-crushing work only to realize that it will never pay enough to cover the ever-growing cost of rent and other basic living expenses.”