math humor.

burnt3rubber · 09-02-2008, 06:46 PM

An engineer, a physicist and a mathematician are staying in a hotel.

The engineer wakes up and smells smoke. He goes out into the hallway and sees a fire, so he fills a trash can from his room with water and douses the fire. He goes back to bed.
Later, the physicist wakes up and smells smoke. He opens his door and sees a fire in the hallway. He walks down the hall to a fire hose and after calculating the flame velocity, distance, water pressure, trajectory, etc. extinguishes the fire with the minimum amount of water and energy needed.
Later, the mathematician wakes up and smells smoke. He goes to the hall, sees the fire and then the fire hose. He thinks for a moment and then exclaims, "Ah, a solution exists!" and then goes back to bed.

The Evolution of Math Teaching
1960s: A peasant sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His costs amount to 4/5 of his selling price. What is his profit?
1970s: A farmer sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His costs amount to 4/5 of his selling price, that is, $8. What is his profit?
1970s (new math): A farmer exchanges a set P of potatoes with set M of money. The cardinality of the set M is equal to 10, and each element of M is worth $1. Draw ten big dots representing the elements of M. The set C of production costs is composed of two big dots less than the set M. Represent C as a subset of M and give the answer to the question: What is the cardinality of the set of profits?
1980s: A farmer sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His production costs are $8, and his profit is $2. Underline the word "potatoes" and discuss with your classmates.
1990s: A farmer sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His or her production costs are 0.80 of his or her revenue. On your calculator, graph revenue vs. costs. Run the POTATO program to determine the profit. Discuss the result with students in your group. Write a brief essay that analyzes this example in the real world of economics.

iPodge · 09-02-2008, 08:46 PM

I usually get math humour... but that just wasn't funny

Mayank · 09-02-2008, 10:19 PM

JCpatriots · 09-04-2008, 11:52 AM

I see.

The Wolf · 09-06-2008, 08:58 AM

Er.. Okay.

Fudgepuppy · 09-09-2008, 07:37 AM

I didnt laugh...

biggysmalls · 09-09-2008, 08:44 AM

warrior3jb · 09-09-2008, 09:00 AM

not funny

Capt Sasha · 09-11-2008, 03:39 AM

This is a very American joke, which is why no one finds it funny. It makes sense only to those who understand the history of New Math in United States and the subsequent degradation in maths education in America.

Today, you'd be hard pressed to find an American who can multiply two or even single digit numbers in their head, thanks to 'New Math'. This is something most 5 graders could do in their head, in most European or Asian countries.

d-sixteen · 09-12-2008, 10:53 PM

I forced myself to smile for your sake.

eyeofthegorgon · 09-14-2008, 05:19 AM

that wasnt very good

ronniecat · 09-17-2008, 03:53 PM

wasnt funny at all....