Scientist vs People

#1: Post by **Psyd** » December 8th, 2009, 5:26 pm

A buddy described the difference between a Scientist and Regular Folk to me the other day, and I immediately thought of HB:

If a regular Joe pushes a button and is immediately struck by lightning like electricity, he walks away thinking, "Wow, I'll not do that again!"
A scientist in the same scenario thinks, "Wow, I wonder if it'll do that every time I push the button?"

#2: Post by **Stuggi** » December 8th, 2009, 5:41 pm

Punch line to that story is sometimes "Getting struck by lightning a couple of times is a small price to pay for understanding a machine that controls lightning!".

#3: Post by **RapidCoffee** » December 8th, 2009, 7:20 pm

Psyd wrote:A scientist in the same scenario thinks, "Wow, I wonder if it'll do that every time I push the button?"

And to do the experiment properly, it has to be double blinded, with a lookalike control button that does nothing. So a good Scientist will recruit a bunch of unsuspecting Regular Folk to push the buttons...

#4: Post by **GC7** » December 8th, 2009, 9:47 pm

Psyd wrote:A buddy described the difference between a Scientist and Regular Folk to me the other day, and I immediately thought of HB:

If a regular Joe pushes a button and is immediately struck by lightning like electricity, he walks away thinking, "Wow, I'll not do that again!"
A scientist in the same scenario thinks, "Wow, I wonder if it'll do that every time I push the button?"

I know I'm a scientist because I'm feverishly working on yet another grant deadline for December 16th. Yet I'd walk away saying I won't do that again.

Your friend needs to work on a new hypothesis.

#5: Post by **CRCasey** » December 9th, 2009, 12:42 am

And there are those here that would push both buttons just to see what they might do.

Just saying.

-C

#6: Post by **coffee.me** » December 9th, 2009, 2:02 am

. . . . or PID that thing, then declare: "it makes no difference in the pain!"

#7: Post by **iginfect** » December 9th, 2009, 6:02 am

I agree with GC7, I'd just walk away.

Marvin, with a B.S. and a doctorate.

#8: Post by **Stuggi** » December 9th, 2009, 6:47 am

This makes you wonder what kind of scientist people normally encounter, since all the ones on HB seems to have a bit of a different approach.

(Oh, personally I'd have some one else push the button, but that has more to do with a sadistic nature than studying for a Master/Licenciate degree in mechanical engineering)

#9: Post by **michaelbenis** » December 9th, 2009, 1:38 pm

You mean scientists aren't people, too?

December 9th, 2009, 3:56 pm

GC7 wrote:I know I'm a scientist because I'm feverishly working on yet another grant deadline for December 16th.

Feverishly working on a grant deadline won't make yo a scientist. I know a performance artist that is feverishly working on a grant deadline for Dec 20th.
OTOH, there are plenty of people that work in science, but are not scientists.

And remember folks, jokes are like cats. The first thing that happens when you start to take them apart to see how they work is that you get a non-working one...