Asking for a Raise

Title: Asking for a Raise

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Contextual Data:

Social Context
- Jiachen encountered this joke on the internet, as it is one of the more popular jokes that does not require any deep understanding of computer science. This joke can be shared with anyone with the most rudimentary understanding of data structures in computer science, although experienced computer scientists would still find the joke funny.

Cultural Context
- The joke depends only on knowledge of the “array,” one of the most basic computer science data structures that any student of computer science would encounter in her first introductory course. The joke plays on the pun between the word “arrays” and the phrase “a raise,” indicating that a programmer who does not “get” arrays—that is, she does not understand the function of the array or how to use them correctly—will not find a career in computer science. On the other hand, any worker who does not receive an expected pay increase might be expected to quit after some time. This joke relies on a pun basic enough that experienced and inexperienced programmers alike will be able to appreciate and share, which explains why it is one of the most popular computer science jokes we have encountered. See Use Pointers for a variation on this joke that requires a little more programming knowledge to fully understand.

Item:

Q: Why did the programmer quit his job?

A: Because he didn’t get arrays!

Transcript:

Stephanie: Could you state your name and background please?
Jiachen: Yes. My name is Jiachen Jiang, I am a ’20 and I am a Computer Science major at Dartmouth College.
Stephanie: Can you tell me your joke please?
Jiachen: Yes. So the joke starts off with why did the programmer quit his job? The answer is, because he didn’t get arrays!
Stephanie: Ahaha! Alright, and where did you hear this joke?
Jiachen: I found this joke when I was scrolling through the internet, as I often do here at this College.
Stephanie: Alright. And uh, lastly, why is this joke funny?
Jiachen: This is joke is funny to me because arrays are a type of very popular data structure within Computer Science, spelled a-r-r-a-y-s. But arrays also sounds like “a raise”, as in an increase in monetary amount earned in a job. So when the programmer didn’t get a raise, that meant that he did not understand a basic computer science… a basic computer science theory. However, that also means he didn’t get enough money in order to live a comfortable lifestyle.

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

Collector’s Name: Stephanie Guo

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Dartmouth Folklore Archive