What about a math joke that could in itself be treated as a kind of math joke? A so-called metamath joke.
Admit it! It’s not uncommon that sometimes it takes a while before you can get a math joke, especially if it relies on some basic knowledge of advanced or abstract (or abstruse) math.
Experiencing that aha! takes a little longer. For novices, a mature or sophisticated math joke wouldn’t spark much mathematical joy in them—it seems or sounds more like a boring math textbook or a vanilla math teacher than anything else.
Of course, there are some math jokes that are open to different interpretations, especially those bordering on poking fun at “oft-proudly self-professed nonmath” or semi-innumerate folks, which may arguably be perceived as being elitist, racist, or sexist (or all three) in some illiberal or puritan circles.
MAGA Math (or Haiti Math?)
Below are two political math jokes I recently X-ed in the aftermath of racist rhetoric perpetrated or repeated by a white supremacist, who once proudly self-proclaimed to be the “least racist person on the planet.”
Political Algebra: A MAGA equation that could lead to the loss of millions of conservative votes, as people have had enough of racist or nativist language, which divides rather than unites a polarized nation.
Dog Math: How not to submit your math homework—thanks to Trump and Vance and MAGA ambassadors of bigotry, who forget that they themselves are the offspring of immigrants. Estimate how many millions of kids would get away from this racist excuse.
These days, it’s getting harder to share a math joke or a quasi-clean limerick without being labeled with all kinds of four-, five-, or six-letter adjectives in the “cancel culture” or “woke” world we live in.
Are the days of adult or mature math jokes numbered? Is vintage recreational math found in out-of-print math puzzles titles, periodicals, or journals—which is often inarguably colonialist, racist, or supremacist—heading the way of the dodo?
Humorously & irreverently yours
© Yan Kow Cheong, September 27, 2024.
Facebook’s “UK Best Jokes & Puns” (Feb. 13)
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