2013-12-05
Explanation
The Joke
A boy named Bobby is given a robot that has "no personality, no feelings, no soul." The idea is that by spending time with Bobby, the robot will "learn your ways and become more and more human." Bobby immediately begins interrogating the robot: "So you have no feelings at all?" The robot replies "Affirmative." Bobby then asks a series of leading, emotionally loaded questions: "So you wouldn't feel sad if you had no friends at school? Or if you didn't get what you want for Christmas? Or if your mom was too busy in her lab to spend time with you?" These questions clearly reveal Bobby's own personal pain and loneliness rather than genuinely testing the robot. Later, a scientist asks the robot if it learned anything about personality. The robot simply responds: "Affirmative" -- implying it has indeed learned something about human nature, specifically that humans project their own emotional pain onto others.
The Humor
The joke operates on two levels. On the surface, Bobby is supposed to be teaching the robot about human personality, but he inadvertently reveals his own deep insecurities and neglect (no friends, absent mother). The robot's flat "Affirmative" at the end is funny because it suggests the robot did learn about personality -- not through Bobby's intentional teaching, but by observing Bobby's transparent emotional projection. The comic is bittersweet: it is simultaneously a joke about how humans reveal themselves when they think they are examining others, and a sad portrait of a lonely child. The scientist mother being "too busy in her lab" to spend time with Bobby adds an ironic layer, since she is presumably the one who built the robot meant to be Bobby's companion.