2014-05-18
Explanation
The Joke
A doctor tells a patient, "You will be all right, Mister Piglucci, but I am afraid... your anus will never be the same." When the patient protests that it was just a routine colonoscopy, the doctor clarifies that he meant it in the philosophical sense -- referencing Heraclitus, who said you can never step in the same river twice. The molecular makeup of the patient"s anus changes constantly, just like a river. Another patient then asks if the doctor uses this joke on all his patients, and the doctor replies, "Technically, it is never exactly the same joke."
The Humor
The comic works on multiple levels. First, there is the shock humor of a doctor seemingly delivering terrible medical news after a routine procedure, only to reveal he is making a philosophy joke. The doctor is applying Heraclitus"s famous doctrine of flux -- that everything is in constant change -- to the most undignified possible context: a patient"s anus after a colonoscopy. The final punchline is a meta-joke: when accused of repeating the same joke, the doctor uses the very same Heraclitean logic to argue that since everything is always changing, it is technically never the same joke twice. This is both a clever philosophical application and an annoying dodge.
References
- Heraclitus: A pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (c. 535-475 BCE) famous for the doctrine that everything is in a state of flux. The saying "you can never step in the same river twice" is attributed to him, meaning that since the water is constantly flowing, the river is always changing.
- Massimo Pigliucci: The patient"s name, "Piglucci," may be a reference to Massimo Pigliucci, a philosopher of science known for engaging with public discourse on philosophy.