The smarter you are, the more you find funny.
So it's no surprise that smart folks from the higher echelons1 of every discipline have their own in-jokes.
But surely their knowledge isn't so specialized2 that you couldn't enjoy their jokes as well? Redditors recently took turns sharing their own favorite intellectual jokes and we've gathered our favorites here.
Instead of going to medical school, getting a linguistics3 degree, and brushing up on your art history, just check out this cheat sheet for our favorite "smart" jokes.
A photon is going through airport security. The TSA agent asks if he has any luggage. The photon says, "No, I'm traveling light."
It's funny because: "Traveling light" is a turn of phrase used to indicate traveling without much (or any) luggage. In science, a photon is a particle of light (almost always moving).
It's on this list because: Air travel, amirite?!
Pretentious4? Moi?
It's funny because: Only a pretentious person whose daily life doesn't require French would actually say "moi" and mean it.
It's in this list because: Clocking in at two words, it's the shortest joke in the English language.
A logician6's wife is having a baby. The doctor immediately hands the newborn to the dad. The wife says, "Is it a boy or a girl?" The logician says, "Yes."
It's funny because: Processing that question through Boolean logic5, "yes" is technically7 correct. How would you answer if the question were "Is it a boy AND a girl?"
It's on this list because: Logicians don't get enough love.
How can you tell the difference between a chemist and a plumber8? Ask them to pronounce "unionized."
It's funny because: A more labor-conscious plumber would pronounce the word as "yoon-yun-ized." A chemist would probably say "un-eye-on-ized."
It's on this list because: What other joke can simultaneously9 address the removal of charged particles from an atom as well as the organization of workers trying to achieve shared goals?
Two women walk into a bar and talk about the Bechdel test.
It's funny because: The Bechdel test is a measure of gender10 equality in the media. A piece of media is considered to pass the test if it includes at least two women who talk to each other about something besides men. This joke passes the test.
It's on this list because: The media is self-referential.
Heard about that new band called 1023 MB? They haven't had any gigs yet.
It's funny because: A gigabyte is a measure of data equal to 1,024 MB. As you can see the band is only 1,023 MB, they haven't had any "gigs" yet.
It's on this list because: A lot of people probably thought one GB is a nice round 1,000 MB.
Heisenberg was speeding down the highway. A cop pulls him over and says "Do you have any idea how fast you were going back there?" Heisenberg says, "No, but I knew where I was."
It's funny because: Werner Heisenberg was a German physicist11 and one of the key figures in quantum theory. His famous "Heisenberg Uncertainty12 Principal" states that we can know either where a quantum particle is or how fast it's moving, but it's impossible to know both at the same time.
It's on this list because: Heisenberg's life was amazing. Seriously.
C, Eb, and G walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry, no minors14."
It's funny because: C, Eb, and G are the musical notes that constitute a C minor13 chord.
It's on this list because: The relationship between a major chord and its relative minor is pretty cool.
First Law of Thermodynamics: You can't win. Second Law of Thermodynamics: You can't break even. Third Law of Thermodynamics: You can't stop playing.
It's funny because: It's an absolute reductionist take on the real laws of thermodynamics, and the language is such that it implies life isn't worth living. In plain terms, the laws of thermodynamics are: energy can't be created or destroyed, things tend to move from order to disorder15, and the lower the temperature drops, the more disorderly things become.
It's in this list because: It's actually an accurate take on thermodynamics.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate16.
It's funny because: You were expecting the word "problem," but the joke-teller replaced it with "precipitate," which is the solid that forms in a solution of liquid after a chemical reaction has taken place.
It's on this list because: Chemists are hard enough to understand as it is. Now you have a slight edge.
A linguistics professor says during a lecture that, "In English, a double negative forms a positive. But in some languages, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, in no language in the world can a double positive form a negative." But then a voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."
It's funny because: "Yeah" and "right" are technically affirmative words, but put these two positives together and you get an ultra-sarcastic, "Yeah, right."
It's on this list because: It's totally true.
This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.
It's funny because: This phrase, with varying versions often attributed to Winston Churchill, is a response to the famous rule in English that a sentence isn't supposed to end in a preposition. In constructing the sentence this way, the speaker is technically correct, but it's an incredibly awkward way to communicate.
It's on this list because: Language is complicated. Let's mock it.
How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb? A fish.
It's funny because: Surrealism is an movement all about creating weird17 illogical art. As this joke makes no sense, it is itself a surrealist work.
It's on this list because: Banana.
Knock knock. Who's there? Knock knock. Who's there? Knock knock. Who's there? Knock knock. Who's there? Philip Glass.
It's funny because: Philip Glass is an American composer whose music is often described as minimalist and repetitive.
It's on this list because: You've very likely seen a few movies he scored.
What does a dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac19 do at night? He stays up wondering if there really is a dog.
It's funny because: This poor afflicted20 soul's dyslexia has caused him to confuse "God" with "dog." His agnosticism forces him to wrestle21 with "dog's" existence. And his insomnia18 has him losing sleep over it.
It's on this list because: You never know someone's struggle.
1 echelons [ˈeʃəˌlɔnz] 第12级 | |
n.(机构中的)等级,阶层( echelon的名词复数 );(军舰、士兵、飞机等的)梯形编队 | |
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2 specialized [ˈspeʃəlaɪzd] 第8级 | |
adj.专门的,专业化的 | |
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3 linguistics [lɪŋˈgwɪstɪks] 第8级 | |
n.语言学 | |
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4 pretentious [prɪˈtenʃəs] 第9级 | |
adj.自命不凡的,自负的,炫耀的 | |
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5 logic [ˈlɒdʒɪk] 第7级 | |
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性 | |
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6 logician [ləˈdʒɪʃn] 第7级 | |
n.逻辑学家 | |
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7 technically [ˈteknɪkli] 第8级 | |
adv.专门地,技术上地 | |
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8 plumber [ˈplʌmə(r)] 第7级 | |
n.(装修水管的)管子工 | |
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9 simultaneously [ˌsɪməl'teɪnɪəslɪ] 第8级 | |
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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10 gender [ˈdʒendə(r)] 第8级 | |
n.(生理上的)性,(名词、代词等的)性 | |
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11 physicist [ˈfɪzɪsɪst] 第7级 | |
n.物理学家,研究物理学的人 | |
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12 uncertainty [ʌnˈsɜ:tnti] 第8级 | |
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物 | |
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13 minor [ˈmaɪnə(r)] 第7级 | |
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修 | |
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14 minors [ˈmainəz] 第7级 | |
n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 );副修科目;小公司;[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修,选修,兼修( minor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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15 disorder [dɪsˈɔ:də(r)] 第7级 | |
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调 | |
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16 precipitate [prɪˈsɪpɪteɪt] 第7级 | |
adj.突如其来的;vt.使突然发生;n.沉淀物 | |
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17 weird [wɪəd] 第7级 | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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18 insomnia [ɪnˈsɒmniə] 第7级 | |
n.失眠,失眠症 | |
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19 insomniac [ɪnˈsɒmniæk] 第7级 | |
n.失眠症患者 | |
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