Successfully combining principles of science and mathematics—as well as creativity, among other things—to solve certain problems is not something every one of us can do. But engineers have pushed their limits of greatness time and again by completing even the most complex of tasks.
Not only are these great minds capable of doing wonderful things at work, they use brain power elsewhere as well; coming up with science-based jokes, for instance, which, thanks to the internet, we all get to enjoy. Today we’ve listed some great examples of that, shared by the ‘Wonderful Engineering’ Facebook page, so scroll down to find them and enjoy the hearty giggle.
In order to better understand what determines people’s inclination towards a certain type of humor, Bored Panda has reached out to psychologist and former lecturer at the University of New South Wales, Bruce Wilson, Ph.D., who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. Scroll down to find his thoughts in the text below.
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I have the same problem, I guess my social skills just can't be found
With over 4.2 million likes and even more followers, the ‘Wonderful Engineering’ Facebook page was started back in 2012. Since then—for over a decade now—it has been presenting its fans with everything from the latest news in the realm of engineering to sources of inspiration.
In their own words, “‘Wonderful Engineering’ is a platform for engineers where they learn about innovative design and smart engineering happening around the world.” However, there’s plenty of entertaining (yet often educational nevertheless) material as well; and this list is excellent proof of that.
Even though you don’t necessarily have to be an engineer to get a kick out of engineering-based memes, one of the reasons they might find them particularly amusing is because they can relate to the situations such memes depict.
When discussing what affects our preference for a certain type of humor, psychologist and former lecturer at the University of New South Wales, Bruce Wilson, Ph.D., suggested that such inclination is usually determined by identification.
“When we can identify with a particular type of humor it becomes personalized and makes perfect sense to us. This is why most comedians self-deprecate during their stand-up routines; they realize the value of identifying with the humor of the moment.”
“Humor also demonstrates awareness,” Wilson added. “When we understand the hidden message we demonstrate our intelligence and our emotional diversity.”
He suggested that jokes make us more psychodiverse, which is healthier than being stuck in a constant state of seriousness. “Life has become very serious and we need the release of humor to balance our lives.”
Make it, like, more, like make it pop. But subtle. Also add puppies.
But it’s not only complex, multilayered humor that can help ease the state of seriousness we live in; some straightforward jokes can be equally—if not more—amusing as well (including all sorts of engineering-based puns).
“The fusion of opposites attracts people to the funny side of anything. We seem as a species to enjoy the idea that nonsense is funny. Even slapstick humor of the last century is a form of the same idea, a fusion of opposites,” the psychologist explained.
In a piece for Psychology Today, Bruce Wilson pointed out that, “the human brain is believed to have intrinsic constraints as part of a general intelligence of context. This allows the brain to filter through all the possibilities and make connections through a synthesis of analyses, a cognitive synergy.”
He added that human cognitive synergy stands alone when it comes to creating humor out of nonsense, and suggested that a sense of humor is based on perception of what people find funny, which differs with each individual.
Despite humor perception differing from person to person, it is arguably safe to assume that people who have a lot in common—who work in the same field, for instance, or receive similar education—might enjoy similar jokes as well. That could explain why quite a few engineers often appreciate humor of the same kind.
Zippia revealed that there are nearly 230 thousand engineers employed in the US alone. In the meantime, the ‘Wonderful Engineering’ Facebook group has amassed over 4.3 million followers globally, from experts in the field to non-professionals interested in all-things-engineering.
If you need more proof that engineers and humor can go hand-in-hand or if you simply want to have a hearty laugh, make sure to browse Bored Panda’s list of the best engineer jokes next. And if you feel like delving deeper into what exactly it is that they work on, marvel at some pretty impressive wonders of engineering here.
I propose that the official term for that hidden end of a roll of tape be "Waldo"!
You wouldn’t pick the lowest number and say 6+6=12 oh right, now I need to add one!
Load More Replies...No, that's how normal people do it. If you just had the entire addition/subtraction/multiplication tables memorized, THAT would be weird.
A lot of people can do the 20*20 times tables really quickly
Load More Replies...Isn’t this what they mean by “new math”? Sorry, I don’t have kids…and I’m old, so I only know old math
Sort of. "New" math involves teaching kids there's more than one way to get to an answer. This is great because guess what--there's more than one way to get to an answer, and some people do it differently. I did similar stuff like this meme, but was told it was the wrong way. So, I felt like I was bad at math and I hated it. Although I don't always understand the different ways my kids are learning how to math, I do appreciate that it isn't just one way, or just memorize it. It also helps kids see the building blocks of how to do calculations. Although in earlier grades it might seem excessive, as the kids get older and the calculations get harder, they remember those broken-down steps and are able to work through the problems more easily.
Load More Replies...7+3=10 so take 3 from 6 add it to 7 and get 10 then add the remaining 3 to get 13 :)
At school I couldn't do it, but I got better in adulthood. I can stop and calculate in my head if the multi-pack of something I'm about to buy is actually cheaper.
Load More Replies...I thought 7 + 7=14 & 6 is one less than 7 so 7 + 6 must be 13 WAS normal addition!!
Who's to say what's normal? It's a legitimate way to do it.
Load More Replies...I play Killer Sudoku. That one really makes you good at remembering all the various permutations of "X+Y=Z"...
That's right. This thread just illustrates there are many ways to get to the right answer.
Load More Replies...Me converting a 24-hour clock to a 12-hour clock. It's 1800. 18 - 10 = 8, 8 - 2 = 6. It's 6:00 p.m. it's really sad.
Melissa, I subtract 12. 18 -12 = 6 so it's 6pm. If it comes up regularly, you start to remember the common ones.
Load More Replies...Don't know why you got down-voted. Re-reading this thread after 3 months, noticed & fixed it for you.
Load More Replies...This is just a poor illustration of how that's helpful. I prefer to round to ten and subtract. So instead if 7 + 6, you do 10 + 6 to get 16, and then subtract the amount you needed to round by (3) to get 13. It scales up really nicely too. 70 + 60, 700 + 600, etc. can all be quickly figured with the same pattern. This doesn't have anything to do with Common Core math. I learned this in grade school in the 90s. We never used 'addition' tables, just multiplication tables.
No, this method is actually far superior in many cases, especially with bigger numbers. Ex: 350 + 94 = 450 - 6
First excited I think like Peter...then sad cause I think like Peter 😳😆
This is literally the kind of common core thinking US math teachers are now required to make kids learn about. These kinds of problems are called "doubles plus one"; so technically it would be, "6+6=12 and 7 is one more than 6, so 13 because it is one more than 12." This is not a helpful tool for the kind of kids who still count on their fingers to solve 6+6.
I"m sorry ... WHAAAAT?? People don't have addition tables, at LEAST to 10 + 10, memorized???
I mean ... if you don't have 6 + 7 memorized, why do you have 6 + 6 memorized?
Load More Replies...The powers of an analytical mind - at least he only went 1 less than 3
My favourite that after talking with my boyfriend he gets tampon adverts 😂 during those days for him earplugs would be more appropriate 😉
Note: this post originally had 90 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Good for you, switching to the egg. Kids are really high in cholesterol. Plus they're always sticky.
Load More Replies...half of these don't have to do with engineering like the one with the turtle drawing
I have been entertained and will find something else to do now. Like find a cat and tie a price of buttered bread to it……
Good for you, switching to the egg. Kids are really high in cholesterol. Plus they're always sticky.
Load More Replies...half of these don't have to do with engineering like the one with the turtle drawing
I have been entertained and will find something else to do now. Like find a cat and tie a price of buttered bread to it……