I don't get this joke. Its really sciency or something....

[AvsJoe]

yeah I'm positive, one lost a electron

heh heh heh it's funny because it's science!

 

[FalloutJack]

I'm just going to go "SCIENCE!" and move on, if you don't mind...

 

[UncleOvid]

It's not a direct joke, or at least not in the way non-Germans mean a joke. It's a literal question: what makes the difference between large constructs of elemental particles and the elemental particles themselves.

Any joke perceived in this question would have to take the form of a non-sequitur i.e. "What's the difference between and Elephant and a banana: Chickens lay eggs."

The obvious lack of connection between the set-up and the punchline, whilst maintaining a joke-like format, brings about a form of humour of discordance: it's funny because there's nothing funny about it, yet it's postulated as if it were funny. The brain seems to find this kind of absurdities amusing.

It might also be using this same absurdity based humour deliberately as the answer following the question exceeds its complexity to an amusingly mismatching degree. A synergy of this and my first guess is probably the closest to the truth, however, having not attended Dr. Bernstein's lecture this is just conjecture.

Pretty much this.

A similar question/ joke would be:
Q. "How many surrealists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"
A. "Fish."

Not quite. This joke isn't as simple as inserting random values into the "What's the difference between X and Y? Z" formula. The postulation of a non-sequiter punchline as the source of humor is actually relevant here, as nonsense and illogical progression is central to surrealist aesthetic. Another version of this that I've heard goes:

Q: How many surrealists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Three--two to fill the bathtub with Jell-O and one to flambe the giraffe.

In other words, the punchline doesn't really matter, as long as it's bizarre and/or unrelated to the question; the joke's funny because surrealists would somehow agree that it was a (or even the) valid answer.

On-topic: As has been pointed out before, the subject isn't a joke, at least not a complete one (the stuff after the colon isn't a punchline, it's a subtitle). Though I am kind of curious what the punchline is, if there is one, and what neutron-induced reaction cross sections have to do with it. I wonder if he addresses it in the lecture.

Off-topic again: Has anyone else noticed that elephants seem to be a default academic example of contrast, especially in the sciences? It seems like anytime someone wants to point out how a certain concept is different from anything else, they use elephants to make their point. I do it in English class, and I have a friend who wrote a fantastic geometry paper once about how points in Euclidean geometry were necessarily infinitesimal points and not infinitesimal elephants.

 

[Zeromaeus]

Ha!
Its funny.
You don't have to understand the science really...

It's not a joke

But Doctor, wouldn't that cause a parabolic destabilization of the fission singularity?

This however is.

Its a joke. It has a build-up and a punch-line. Its a traditional set-up style joke.

No it's literally not a joke it's the title of a lecture.http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/colloquiums/Previous/Fall_2006/Lee_Bernstein.html
Kind of interesting how many people found it funny simply because they were told that they should.

I thought it was funny.

 

[teutonicman]

Dude it's just a bad joke.

 

[nicholaxxx]

Well I don't know about this one... I think one looses a electron...

yeah I'm positive, one lost a electron

I see what you did there

also, yeah confused, maybe it's not a joke?

 

[scorch 13]

Great now all the smart asses are going to come out.

 

[thylasos]

Why do communists drink chai?


Because proper tea is theft.

 

[Optimus Hagrid]

Step aside, people. I do A-level Physics.

"What's the difference between a nucleus and an elephant?: Using surrogate reactions to deduce neutron-induced reaction cross sections on radioactive nuclei "

I...

*runs*

 

[Arikarin Aririkamei]

I highly doubt it was meant to be joke...but....erm. What? That's confusing.

 

[SmartIdiot]

Well I don't know about this one... I think one looses a electron...

yeah I'm positive, one lost a electron

Ha... I see what you did there...

As for the OP. Well... yeah it flew over my head.

 

[PureChaos]

absolutely no idea, the joke sucks

 

[Above]

Muhahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...Wha?

 

[tetron]

Yeah I'd have to say this is a joke that's meant to be funny by not being a joke. It seems incomplete as an actual joke.

 

[Urgh76]

thats actually pretty funny.

AND IM NOT JUST SAYING THAT, IT IS!!

 

[Irridium]

But Doctor, wouldn't that cause a parabolic destabilization of the fission singularity?

.
Fallout 3 G.O.A.T. quotes eh?

Yeah, up yours to buddy!

 

[Sonicron]

Why do communists drink chai?


Because proper tea is theft.

I think I'll actually memorize this one. Teeheehee. I tip my hat to you, good sir.

 

[Lukeje]

You don't have to use surrogate reactions to deduce the reaction cross-section of an elephant...

 

[FolkLikePanda]

... elephants are big...

 

[malestrithe]

It is probably one of those meta jokes that people use when they try to sound clever.