Stand-Up Comic Makes Science Funny

Hugh Pickens writes "The San Fransisco Chronicle is running a story about Brian Malow, a stand-up comedian who has showcased his science-centric stand-up humor for more than a decade in comedy clubs, at conventions and for corporate clients across the country. Fortunately, club patrons don't need a degree in quantum mechanics to appreciate one-liners like 'I used to be an astronomer, but I got stuck on the day shift,' 'I just started reading, "The Origin of Species." Don't tell me how it ends!' or that he 'attended a magnet school for bipolar students.' While his show is very rational and based on hard science, Malow cleverly infuses it with an abstract or surreal comic twist." Hugh Pickens continues: "Like observing that whenever his mother would lose weight, his father would gain weight, and then linking the two by a fundamental law of nature. 'It was like the Conservation of Mass within our family,' says Malow, adding that 'fat can neither be created nor destroyed.' Last year Malow performed for colleagues at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. 'We found his humor delightfully nerdy, and he fitted right in,' said Kevin Grazier, who is a planetary scientist and author. 'It's one thing to make people laugh when they're sitting in a darkened club room, with a few drinks in them. It takes real talent to be funny in the afternoon, in a work environment.' Malow's interest in science and nature also extends to his passion for insects, with Web site InsectPaparazzi, and he has even discovered a species of fly. 'Of course, I found it in Golden Gate Park,' he says. 'So it may have just been a tourist.'"

Comments

I hope the jokes get better...

[able1234au]

I think Big Bang Theory does a good job of science jokes.

Re:I hope the jokes get better...

[Tablizer]

"filmed in front of a live audience" often use a professional audience--people who are paid to be wildly enthusiastic and to laugh at the merest suggestion of a joke.

I was actually part of the studio audience for a Family Feud gameshow once (not paid). What they do is make you wait and wait such that you are so bored that ANYTHING is funny when the show finally rolls. In other words, sensory deprivation. (I'm not saying this is the only technique, but it's the one they used for that show.)
     

Re:A neutron walked into a bar and asked

[zwekiel]

The proton told the electron something he just couldn't believe, so the electron asked the proton, "Are you sure?"

The proton replied: "I'm positive."

Yup, a career in standup is definitely in the cards for me.

Funny Clip of him on YouTube

[Faizdog]

I searched for clips of him on YouTube.

Here's a really funny ~7minute video with highlights from a couple of his shows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn8uzB0eypk&feature=related

The man is a genius.

Don't tell me how it ends!

[Anonymous Coward]

'I just started reading, "The Origin of Species." Don't tell me how it ends!

Turns out the zebra did it.

Why did the mathematician...

[Anonymous Coward]

Q: Why did the mathematician have complex numbers on his telephone?

So he could call all his imaginary friends.

Chemical reactions - they're a blast!

[GuineaPigMan]

I'd credit Bill Nye with being one of the first to make science funny. Maybe he wasn't as good as this guy, but I always appreciated the dry humor as a kid.

Science rules!

Quantum Physics

[DJ_Perl]

Q: A Quantum Physicist was in bed with a paramour, when his wife walked in. What did he say?

A: Wait, I can explain Everything! It's not what it looks like!

Re:Fitted?

[sciencecomedian]

'We found his humor delightfully nerdy, and he fitted right in,' said Kevin Grazier, who is a planetary scientist and author. Ugh, really? It's hard to keep feeling superior to the artsies when other scientists are using words like 'fitted' in this context.

In Kevin's defense, he says he was misquoted. Seeing that appalled him, too. So you can still respect scientists.

Re:A neutron walked into a bar and asked

[thefekete]

So this bar walks into a guy... oh sorry, wrong frame of reference.

Re: discovering a species of fly

[sciencecomedian]

Correction: I didn't discover a new species of fly - but I did take a picture that may be the first known occurrence of a particular species in this part of the world (the Nearctic): http://bugguide.net/node/view/21487 (but it's a species known in other parts of the world)

Re:Getting out of a speeding ticket

[MrNaz]

Lambda(red) = 620nm
Lambda(green) = 520nm
f = c / L
f(red) = 4.84*10^14Hz
f(green) = 5.77*10^14Hz

Assuming that he observed the light over a distance of 50m, there are this many waves of light in the red spectrum:

50 / (620*10^-9) = 8.0645*10^7

In order to "greenshift" that, he needs to cause this many waves to incident his retina:

50 / 520*10^-9) = 9.615*10^7

So he needs to travel at a speed such that he only views 8.0645/9.615 oscillations he otherwise would if he were stationary.

The redshift formula is:

f(final) = f(emit) + f(emit) * v/c

So:
f(final) = 5.77*10^14Hz
f(emit) = 4.84*10^14Hz
c = 3*10^8m/s

v = c * ( ( f(f) - f(e) ) / f(e) )
= 3*10^8*((5.77*10^14 - 4.84*10^14)/4.84*10^14)
= 5.76*10^7m/s

= 207,520,611 km/h

That's one HELL of a speeding ticket.

Re: discovering a species of fly

[Anonymous Coward]

You're pretty fly for a science guy

Re:A neutron walked into a bar and asked

[Toonol]

Renee Descartes walked into a bar.

Bartender asked, "Would you like a drink?"

"I think not!" exclaimed Descartes, and disappeared.