It's kind of appropriate that my name falls entirely in the lanthanides & actinides. My superhero/science fiction/grammar humor book is like a postcard from The Island Of Misfit Writers ("Having a great time - wish you were here.").
Much like "Verbosity's Vengeance", I expect that this bit of wit will be regarded as remarkably clever by ~0.0001% of the English-speaking world, although perhaps a hundred times as many will understand it right away (i.e. ~0.01%).
It begs the question of why I insist on telling jokes that cater to the narrow, narrow demographic overlap of (knows the significance of lanthanides & actinides on the periodic table) with (appreciates sadly lyrical metaphors). A screening test to select members of my "tribe"? Intellectual snobbery? Simple self-congratulatory showing off of education and erudition? Needy preening?
Grammar jokes, chemistry jokes... not exactly what appeals to the mass market, are they?
||| Comments are welcome |||
Help keep the words flowing.
Much like "Verbosity's Vengeance", I expect that this bit of wit will be regarded as remarkably clever by ~0.0001% of the English-speaking world, although perhaps a hundred times as many will understand it right away (i.e. ~0.01%).
It begs the question of why I insist on telling jokes that cater to the narrow, narrow demographic overlap of (knows the significance of lanthanides & actinides on the periodic table) with (appreciates sadly lyrical metaphors). A screening test to select members of my "tribe"? Intellectual snobbery? Simple self-congratulatory showing off of education and erudition? Needy preening?
Grammar jokes, chemistry jokes... not exactly what appeals to the mass market, are they?
||| Comments are welcome |||
Help keep the words flowing.
Nerds are legion -- but a lot of them learn to blend in. I really believe the demographic is much broader than is generally assumed, because otherwise we wouldn't be seeing so many SF, fantasy, and horror works on TV and in mainstream film.
ReplyDelete