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Science Askew

Posted by timothy on from the your-tie-is-a-jar dept.

Stella Daily writes "When the cool kids make fun of the geeks, the results are often lacking in wit ('Hey, Four-Eyes!') or simply inaccurate. We've all heard the joke about the computer programmer who, when given the choice of transforming a frog into a beautiful princess with a kiss, declines, saying he has no need for a beautiful woman, 'but a talking frog is REALLY cool!'" Read on for the rest of Stella's brief review of Science Askew to find out whether insiders can do a better job. Science Askew: A Light-Hearted Look at the Scientific World author Donald E. Simanek and John C. Holden pages 310 publisher Institute of Physics Publishing rating 7 reviewer Stella Daily ISBN 0750307145 summary Geeks poking fun at themselves, with mixed success.

Whoever came up with that joke definitely doesn't know geeks, or he'd know that they most certainly do appreciate the opposite sex and that that programmer would have been all over the frog in a second. But when geeks make fun of themselves? Now that's something to see -- and Science Askew is a collection of just such humor. The jokes run the gamut from one-liner to extended essay, and almost every major branch of science is represented.

The great strength of Science Askew is that, unlike so many collections of humor about a particular group of people, these aren't just blonde jokes with "chemist" or "computer programmer" or "mathematician" substituted for the word "blonde." It's subject-specific humor -- and at its best, it's good for some serious belly laughs. (An example: "Never lend a geologist money. They consider a million years ago to be recent.") Most of the time, a specialized knowledge of a particular branch of science isn't necessary to get the jokes -- merely being a generalist geek is more than enough.

You'll find many old chestnuts gathered here, such as the "Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide!" essay, mixed in with original material by Donald Simanek and lesser-known pieces plucked from magazines. John Holden's illustrations, which range from the brilliantly funny to the incomprehensible, are sprinkled throughout.

Why does Science Askew rate only a 7? While it's nice to have so many science jokes gathered in one place, you're likely to have heard a good number of them before -- and even if you haven't, you can find them (and many more) for free here. While there is a significant amount of original and hard-to-find material, it tends to be of lesser quality than the stuff you can find on the Web. Thus, it's hard to justify the $30 price tag. Plus, as a chemist, I can't help but be miffed that there's no section for chemistry (though there are a few chemistry jokes scattered in other parts of the book). There's an entire 23-page chapter devoted to the life and times of a single fictitious scientist, so why not a chapter for the chemists?

When geeks lampoon each other, the results can be dangerously funny. Unfortunately, as Science Askew shows, the jokes can also fall flat -- but there's enough good material inside to make it worth a look.

You can purchase Science Askew from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

10 of 380 comments (clear)

  1. blah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    hi

    1. Re:blah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      i wonder if i should form a fp group called 'blah'.

  2. Science can help us! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Donate now!

    1. Re:Science can help us! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I donated a negative amount because I believe cancer is a good thing... and so is a wallet full of money!!!!

  3. www.moontruth.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    IT'S ALL A LIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Open you damn eyes: moontruth
    See the evidence: film clip

  4. Epic of the century by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Winger - "Seventeen"

    This epic catalogues the little explored world of statutory rape. In it, the narrator fancies a girl who is "only seventeen". There is an ever-prevalent fear of "Daddy" who is perhaps a simultaneous metaphor for: the father of the girl, the morals ingrained into him by his own father, and the law -- all three of which would probably agree that "she's too young". This is a story of the conflict between following the wishes of one's libido and the fear of the consequences that would result from doing such. This song is not a moral lecture, however, as the narrator ultimately throws caution to the wind with his proclaimation that "she is old enough for me".

  5. Re:Might as well post a joke - by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Well it's hard to laught when you find out everything you ever believed to be true is a big Fat LIE

  6. Sad news ... Stephen King dead at 55 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Horror/Sci-Fi writer Stephen King was found dead at his Maine residence this morning. Apparently, Mr. King was aimlessly wandering his property trying to come up with new story ideas when he fell into an abandoned well. Unfortunately, the well was home to a family of king cobras, who made short work of the Master of Horror. I'm sure he will be missed by the Slashdot community - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his impact on the social structure of The Gambia. Truly an American icon.

  7. Re:why all the science articals? by nhorton · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Troll, Troll, Troll, Troll, Troll, Troll, TROLL!

  8. Re:two strings by sweatyboatman · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    hehehe...

    note: if you too think this joke is funny, it's probably a sign that years of CS education have screwed with your sense of humor

    --
    It breaks my pluginses, my precious!