"Aha," exclaims the engineer, "I clearly see that Scottish sheep are black."
"Hmm," counters the physicist, "You certainly mean that some Scottish sheep are black."
"No," injects the mathematician, "All we know for sure is that there is at least one sheep in Scotland, and that at least one side of that one particular sheep is black."
As soon as this is said the engineer jumps from the seat and pulls the emergency break handle closest to them. The train comes to a loud screeching stop, luggage is falling down from the racks, and the three accountants in the restroom get startled. But that's another story. The engineer, the physicist, and the mathematician leave the train (not to says that they got forcibly removed by the conductor) and walk about a mile or two to back the place where the animal they have seen was crazing. As they come close to it, and inspect it from all sides, they discover to their shared astonishment that indeed one of it sides is black while the other is actually white.
As they were looking in disbelief at each other the farmer approaches them an yells: "Awa – what ya daeing with ma goat?"
Joke Poo: The Data Scientists and the Pigeon
Three data scientists, a Bayesian statistician, a frequentist statistician, and a machine learning engineer, were working in a park when they saw a pigeon land nearby and then take off again, leaving a distinct splat on a freshly cleaned statue.
“Aha!” declared the frequentist statistician, “We have observed that pigeons are prone to defecate on public monuments.”
“Hmm,” countered the Bayesian statistician, adjusting their glasses, “Given our prior knowledge of pigeon behavior and this single observation, we should update our belief that pigeons tend to favor public monuments, with a slightly higher posterior probability.”
“No, no, no,” interjected the machine learning engineer, already pulling out their laptop. “All we know for sure is that we need a training dataset of pigeon landing sites and defecation events, monument types, and a robust loss function to predict the probability of future splats with 99% accuracy. We will also need to A/B test various sonic deterrents to minimize future incidents. We can start by classifying monuments based on their architectural style, material, and placement within the park, using a convolutional neural network.”
Suddenly a park ranger walks up to them, holding a bucket and a scowl. “What do you think you are doing? Those are fake pigeons, placed by the city council to assess if tourists are even noticing or caring about the statues that they donated to the city.”
Alright, let’s break down this joke and then inject some comedic enrichment.
Joke Dissection:
- Core Premise: The joke highlights the different approaches to problem-solving and generalization taken by an engineer, a physicist, and a mathematician.
- Engineer: Makes a broad, potentially inaccurate statement based on limited observation.
- Physicist: Applies caution and introduces probability, acknowledging uncertainty.
- Mathematician: Overly precise and pedantic, focusing on the absolute minimum known information, bordering on the absurd.
- Engineer’s action and Farmer’s reveal: The engineer’s excessive reaction and the farmer’s revelation that it was a goat, not a sheep, serve as the punchline. It subverts expectations and emphasizes the absurdity of the academic argument.
Key Elements:
- Stereotypes: The joke relies on stereotypes of engineers as pragmatic but prone to oversimplification, physicists as cautious and probability-focused, and mathematicians as hyper-logical and detached from reality.
- Scotland: The setting is important because black sheep are associated with Scotland, adding a layer of plausibility (and perhaps a subtle dig at national stereotypes).
- Observation vs. Abstraction: The conflict lies between making real-world observations and applying abstract, theoretical frameworks.
- The Goat Twist: The unexpected reveal that it’s a goat amplifies the humor by rendering the entire debate irrelevant.
Comedic Enrichment:
Let’s focus on the mathematician’s overly precise statement and the surprising revelation of the goat.
New Joke/Observation:
A statistician, a logician, and a goat are eating lunch. The statistician remarks, “The average person enjoys this meal.” The logician retorts, “That implies at least one person enjoys this meal.” The goat, after chewing thoughtfully, bleats, “Actually, I’m a counterexample.”
“Did You Know?” (Related to the elements):
Did you know that while black sheep are often associated with Scotland, their black wool is actually considered a disadvantage? Black wool can’t be dyed lighter colors, making it less commercially valuable. This is why ‘black sheep’ became a metaphor for someone who’s different or undesirable within a group – they’re harder to profit from, just like the undyeable wool! In that regard, the Engineer, the physicist and the mathematician are akin to black sheep as they are having an unnecessary argument.
Explanation:
- New Joke: Plays on the “argument between experts” format, but this time with a goat that breaks the logic. It combines statistical averages with logical implications and adds a self-aware twist with the goat’s response.
- “Did You Know?”: This factoid connects the ‘black sheep’ element to a real-world disadvantage, adding a layer of ironic understanding to the metaphor in the original joke. It also subtly hints at the “black sheep” roles the experts are playing in the joke itself.
The goal is to enhance the original joke’s humor by playing off its themes and adding a surprising or informative element. The “Did You Know?” piece adds an unexpected twist, making the listener reconsider the meaning of the joke.