Quotations, Memes and Jokes

[jack]

We may have a rival for worst, most obscure joke. Not in depth - anything requiring you to know who Tycho Brahe is, AND have a degree in set theory is worse - but in diversity, being based on basic physics, bad jokes, and zen buddhism.

A monk visited the great Joshu, and asked him "Two cats are sitting on a sloping roof. One has buddha-nature and one does not. Which one falls off first?" and Joshu replied "The one with the smaller Mu."

If you've got to this point it's not going to be funny regardless but since someone always asks, and I enjoy sharing knowledge, you should be aware that (1) The greek letter pronounced 'mu' represents coefficient of friction, so the cat with the smaller one slips more and (2) 'Mu' is a word used in some Buddhist traditions to 'unask' questions which are invalid or malformed. The famous parable -- I believe related to Joshu -- is that it was the response the question "Does a dog have buddha nature." I know I am very oversimplifying; if anyone wants to correct me, feel free.

Oh, I slay me. And coincidently enough, that's what Nick threatened to do when I told him my joke.

Comments

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

yes, I believe it was the Jacobian. Not sure it was Anna Karenina or not - I'd totally forgotten that spraff.

I liked the rabbit-tiger though... one, two, three, aw+!

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

Okay, second J confirms it. It was to remind us to not forget to put in the Jacobian when changing variables (I can't remember VC well enough to know if that makes sense or not) and the book was indeed Dostoyevsky's Anna Karenina.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Wow, good memory. Maybe his trick did work.

Rabbit tiger?

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

The rabbit with a tiger skin at the end of the lecture series- he put it (well, a picture) on an OHP and likened it to VC, in that it might look scary, but is really quite fluffy underneath.