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Laughter might not be the best, but it is certainly a pretty good medicine, and when properly applied it has few unpleasant side effects. Of course, the best humour is when we poke fun at ourselves. Here are a few good ones, mostly along the theme of science and biology. Some are mine; most are not. If you do not have a sense of humour please move on; otherwise, enjoy!
My secret lives . . . . as a Hollywood crewman, the CEO of the Appraisal Institute of Canada, a soccer player, a tennis player, a security expert, a social worker (posing with Charlize Theron!), and a hotel manager (with the US gymnastics team).
Rejection letter.- When all else fails, try this if you dare and get your paper published, guaranteed!. (G. A. Lozano - there are variants and shameless copies online, but this is the original. And another one on the same topic, not mine).
A really bad pun.- What do you call it when unmarried ants have sex? ....formication! (G. A. Lozano - but I am guessing this one must have been independently conceived many times).
My favourite animal.- The warthog!..... what other animal would vehemently refuse to share its warts? (G.L.).
One of my favourite poems.- not funny but very amusing.
Top-down control.- Refuted!!
Life-history.- Succinctly explained.
Hypotheses.- Who needs them, anyway?
Constructive criticism.- The cornerstone of good science.
Progress report.- The best humour has shades of the truth. The first 6 frames depict exactly what happened when I was at the USGS PWRC.
Pet hypothesis.- Never let data interfere with interpretation!
Jean Who??.- Keeping Canadians in our place (from the Korean Herald).
Buzz-word Bingo.- You will never again be bored at meetings or seminars.
Trouble with Math?.- Try this Korean toothpaste! I desperately but fruitlessly wandered the streets of Seoul in search of one for algebra and statistics (yes, it is a legitimate dental term, but I still think it is funny!)
The Medium is the Message...observed Marshall McLuhan, and technology is making it more so. As audio-visual aids go, I doubt flashiest Powerpoint presentation will ever rival the poignancy of a Palaeolithic cave painting.
Fourscore and seven years ago.- The powerpoint version, from Peter Norvig.
Scientific writing.- Calvin, that sarcastic 6-year old genius, put it best: “...the purpose of (scientific) writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure reasoning and inhibit clarity. With a little practice it can become an intimidating and impenetrable fog”.
... and some funny (peculiar) and unusual facts about Estonia.
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