The problem “What is 1+1” was posed to a mathematician, an engineer and an accountant. The mathematician took out 5 sheets of paper and using induction and Zorn’s lemma, among other things, answered, “It’s 2.” The engineer took out a sheet of paper and after a few scribbles answered, “It is approximately 2.1”. The accountant replied, “What do you want it to be?”

The problem “What is 1+1” was posed to a mathematician, an engineer and an accountant.

The mathematician took out 5 sheets of paper and using induction and Zorn’s lemma, among other things, answered, “It’s 2.”

The engineer took out a sheet of paper and after a few scribbles answered, “It is approximately 2.1”.

The accountant replied, “What do you want it to be?”

~Dr. Russell Brown

There once were two friends who were riding in a hot air balloon. During their ride it started to get windy and the balloon began to drift. After a few hours of being flown away from where they had started the two men finally thought to turn the hot air down. As they approached the ground they saw a man all alone for no apparent reason walking back and forth. One of the men shouted to the guy on the ground, “Hey! Where are we?”. The pacing man looked up, then down, then paced for a while, then finally replied, “You are in a hot air balloon”. The man in the balloon turned to his friend and said, “He must be a mathematician. His answer was correct, completely unhelpful, and he took a long time to answer.

There once were two friends who were riding in a hot air balloon. During their ride it started to get windy and the balloon began to drift. After a few hours of being flown away from where they had started the two men finally thought to turn the hot air down. As they approached the ground they saw a man all alone for no apparent reason walking back and forth. One of the men shouted to the guy on the ground, “Hey! Where are we?”. The pacing man looked up, then down, then paced for a while, then finally replied, “You are in a hot air balloon”. The man in the balloon turned to his friend and said, “He must be a mathematician. His answer was correct, completely unhelpful, and he took a long time to answer.
~ Dr. Russell Brown (Real Analysis Professor)