2014-09-22
Explanation
The Joke
A scientist explains the "Pinocchio Illusion" to a woman: "Put your finger on your nose. Now we vibrate your bicep. This tells your brain that your fingertip is moving forward. Your brain knows you didn't tell your finger to move forward, so it logically concludes that your nose is growing."
The woman reacts with shock ("AHHGAAAA"). The scientist asks, "Right?" The woman then asks, "The nose wasn't the first organ you tried this on, was it?" The scientist defensively replies, "Everything is research! Everything!"
The Humor
The Pinocchio Illusion is a real neuroscience phenomenon, and the comic explains it accurately at first. The humor comes from the woman's implication that the scientist likely tried vibrating people's biceps while they touched other body parts first -- specifically, the suggestion is that the scientist tried it on genitalia before the nose. The scientist's overly defensive response ("Everything is research! Everything!") essentially confirms this suspicion, playing on the stereotype of scientists using "research" as a justification for questionable or prurient experiments.
References
- The Pinocchio Illusion is a real perceptual illusion discovered by James Lackner in 1988. When a vibrator is applied to the biceps tendon while the person touches their nose, the brain misinterprets the proprioceptive signals and creates the sensation that the nose is elongating, like Pinocchio's nose. It demonstrates how the brain integrates different sensory signals to construct body awareness.