funny haha...or funny ego-boost?
Hey, you! (yes...YOU) I have a question (ahem): Do you have eleven protons? Because you're so-DIUM fine.
Okay, I'm sorry. Even I can admit that that was pretty bad. Nevertheless, I still find it rolling-on-the-ground-and-kicking-and-screaming-and-crying-and-throwing-up hilarious. Probably because I cannot put my passion for corny science puns into words (you can verify this with Varsha).
But in terms of why I find science puns so funny...well...I'm still figuring that out. In fact, I was originally planning to write this blog post about my passion for science education and how I believe science puns can bridge the knowledge gap between world-renowned scientists and the general population. But this isn't a dissertation, and that felt way too philanthropic -- aka boring -- for a Monday night Saturday morning. So instead, we're going to get personal ;)
CALM DOWN. NOT LIKE THAT.
There are far too many jokes that I could share with you -- some of them being slightly too inappropriate for me to condone within the realm of academia (but I can't stop you if you want to click the link below and read some of them yourselves).
If I'm being completely honest, a large reason I am highly fond of every science joke spewed in my direction is because it boosts my ego. For me, science has always been a subject that humbles me time and time again (ex. AP Chem, AP Bio, GBBE, and any other complicated science course you can imagine). So when I actually understand the humor roughly embedded in the puns I unfortunately graciously shared with you (you're welcome, by the way), I receive the most gratification in return. These jokes have just enough scientific complexity for me to feel embarrassingly intelligent by understanding them, but they also have just enough humor for the jokes to actually make sense.
So basically: complex science topic + poorly written pun = happy Bella
I find this realization to be extremely intriguing because I think it reveals a lot about who we are and why we adopt our senses of humor. In a world that is spiraling toward technological dominance, it's easy to feel lost among the abyss of STEM education. Believe me, I get it. Just ask Mr. Hevel. But what results from the unlikely push for a society to center itself around science when that very society can't even teach the subject properly is...for lack of a better word...elitism. STEM has now become popular enough for the global population to understand its importance, but the subject is not palatable enough to be integrated into our daily lives. It's a battle between humanity's ego and desire to advance -- a battle that frequents our very own history textbooks.
In terms of my own sense of humor, STEM elitism has surely shaped the jokes I find to be amusing. I admit that part of that is because they seem to be so poorly written that they become funny (after all, they were composed by scientists, not PhD-earning English prodigies). But I also must admit that I enjoy knowing the reason that the jokes are funny, contributing to my notion that we gain the greatest satisfaction from things that boost our egos.
Because, if this blog post is all about honesty, what's the difference between the common yet painful "frat boy" pick-up line and the science-based flirtations I shared with you earlier in this post? I hate to break it to my peers who also fall victim to science-pun-induced ego-boosts, but there isn't one. We are no better than anyone else for merely understanding that sodium has eleven protons.
Here's your dose of my cat for the week:
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