Intro Physics Courses Save Lives

Posted by jns on 10 December 2009

Following a series of links (first, then, finally) got me to this “old physics joke” related by one Craig Moe (in 2001).

Honestly, I’d never heard this one, so it struck me as a real knee-slapper. I’m still giggling.

A physics professor’s teaching an introductory course, and going over kinectics in mind-numbing detail, when a pre-med student yells in exasperation, “How is this shit useful?” (I know, an asshole pre-med. Who could imagine such a thing?) The professor, without turning around, responds “It saves lives.”

The lecture continues for a couple of minutes, until the same pre-med student asks “How does this help save lives?” The professor, again without turning around, replies “It keeps ignoramuses like you out of med school.”