The blonde joke
1.23.2006
'Respected' colleague Patrick linked to a pretty good dumb blonde joke. Some observations about this joke:
1) It is rare to see a new joke created. I seem to recall an Asimov story about this, but I can't remember its title.
2) The internet is making the joke. No one who links to it makes the joke. The internet makes the joke.
3) Theoretical basis for 2: 'dumb blonde joke' has roughly the same meaning (in non-extensional terms) as 'generic joke'. Although the internet's greatest asset is its specificity, it is only able to act autonomously in extremely general terms.
4) I really mean it. No person made this joke. No one. Don't believe me? Then tell me who did. Any one person you provide will be insufficient for joke-hood.
5) Implications of 2: The internet has a pretty lame sense of humor.
6) Patrick's sense of humor is just that much worse than the internet's. No one else involved in this joke combines the joke with random other self-involved blogging bullshit.
7) This joke, of course, isn't new. But the blogohedron conducts information like lightening.
8) From 6: I respectfully request that no one link to this post either. The chain shouldn't have come this far to begin with.
9) From 7 and 8: consider me grounded.
10) Searching for Asimov's story, I came across this factoid: he has works in every major category of the Dewey Decimal System except Philosophy. How about that.