elitism

i think i like smart people. i mean, not just have an affinity for - there's something about finding out someone is really intelligent that makes me really enjoy being around them.

most of my friends are pretty intelligent. actually, most of my friends are pretty geeky. the best times of my life and the friends i miss the most are from college. granted, everyone misses their alma mater, but there's something about mit that pools a certain type (read: nerds) together and celebrates our...geekiness.

there was one chapter camp or large group when cktsai (he has pretty awesome delivery) had a crowd gathered around him as he told the joke of the differential operator. best joke EVER - pasted at the end.

anyhow...i just remember when everyone roared/groaned at the punchline...that's a clever joke. i mean, it's funny if you're nerdy, but honestly, you actually have to know some higher level math to get it.

one time, in my first job, people were telling nerdy jokes. someone told the one about the proton and the neutron (eh, old) ... and another person told a really stupid one.

So there's these 2 muffins in an oven.

They're both sitting, just chilling and getting baked.

And one of them yells "Damn, it's hot in here!"

And the other muffin replies "Holy Crap, a talking muffin!"

now, for some reason, she thought it was freaking hilarious. i thought it made no sense. which i suppose was the point, or something...but...jokes are supposed to be clever!

but seeing as how we were all engineers, i decided to tell the differential operator joke.

crickets.

seriously, they all looked at me like i'd told it in polish. my joke was rejected, and vehemently insisted upon that it just wasn't funny. and then they went on to laugh about the talking muffin.

that's when i realized...they don't get it. but...you're engineers. you took calculus.

sometimes...it's refreshing to be around people who "get" you.

so tonight after church a bunch of the leadership went out to dinner with our guest speaker. some of us were bantering, all in good fun, and out of nowhere drl corrects my grammar. i stopped. thought about it. and he was right - i had been grammatically incorrect.

i correct grammar all the time. usually in my head, since it can come across as obnoxious to correct someone out loud...but i have to say, i was kind of impressed that someone caught my mistake. and then jle when on this whole thing about henry viii...

all in all...it was kinda refreshing. though i don't think i can tell my diff op joke for awhile...maybe when my kids get to calculus....

* * * * * * *

the differential operator joke:

e^x and a constant were walking down the street. Suddenly, the constant notices a differential operator walking along the other side of the street. "Oh, no!" exclaims the constant. "I've got to run away! You've got to hide me! There's a differential operator... he could reduce me to nothing!" "Hmmmph," came the haughty reply. "I'm e^x. He can't do anything to me." So e^x walked across the street and introduced himself. "Hi. How are you doing? I am e^x," he bragged. "Pleased to meet you," replied the differential operator. "I'm d/dy."