The Optimist, Pessimist, and the Engineer Joke

Title: The Optimist, Pessimist, and the Engineer Joke

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre: Verbal Folklore: Joke
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: United States

Informant Data:

  • Bharath Katragadda is a Junior (Class of 2019) at Dartmouth College who is completing his Bachelor of Engineering modified with economics. He has already completed the majority of the engineering requirements so therefore has taken many engineering classes in the Thayer school of engineering. I interviewed Bharath in the library on 10/4/17.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context/Cultural Context: This joke is a variation of the common optimist vs. pessimist observation of a glass of water, in this case an engineer is added to the group. The optimist will see it as half-full and the pessimist as half-empty. While the perceptions of the optimist and pessimist remain constant throughout all variations, the added perception acts as the main part of the joke and is used to target certain groups or sub-groups such as engineers.

Item:

  • The joke itself is the item that engineers tell each other or others say when commenting on the typical behavior of engineers. Instead of giving a straightforward answer like the glass is half full/empty the engineer gives a much more analytical observation. The observation is what reflects the common stereotypes, in this case that of being over-analytical, associated with engineers.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Joke:

So an optimist, a pessimist, and an engineer walk into a bar and there is a glass that is half filled.

The optimist says: “The glass is half full”

The pessimist says: “The glass is half empty”

The engineer says: “The glass is two times too big”

Informant’s Comments:

  • Bharath said that he saw this joke on a poster in one of his engineering classes in Thayer.
  • He also asserted that being over-analytical is a trait that he sees in many of his peers that are engineers and is easily observable in any sort of engineering related class or group project.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This engineering variation of a very common saying is the epitome of dry engineering humor. Without any preexisting knowledge of engineer stereotypes the joke does not make sense. This joke serves the purpose of separating engineers into an entirely different breed of people, atypical from the norm.

Collector’s Name: Marwan Zelmat

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore, Joke

 

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