Sunday, May 22, 2016

Philosophers at Starbucks

Amusing:
Parmenides goes up to the counter. “Same as always?” asks the barista. Parmenides nods.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel goes up to the counter and gives a tremendously long custom order in German, specifying exactly how much of each sort of syrup he wants, various espresso shots, cream in exactly the right pattern, and a bunch of toppings, all added in a specific order at a specific temperature. The barista can’t follow him, so just gives up and hands him a small plain coffee. He walks away. The people behind him in line are very impressed with his apparent expertise, and they all order the same thing Hegel got. The barista gives each of them a small plain coffee, and they all remark on how delicious it tastes and what a remarkable coffee connoisseur that Hegel is. “The Hegel” becomes a new Starbucks special and is wildly popular for the next seventy years.
Lots more here.

2 comments:

Shadow said...



I like the Wittgenstein one, mostly because I've had similar experiences. Having ordered a small, I am handed a large drink. When I protest, I am told it's the smallest they have. Thumbs down to superlatives.

G. Verloren said...

I don't quite get the Pythagoras one.

The Descartes one annoys me, because the underlying attempt at a joke is based in such lazy pedantic nonsense. "I think not" does not mean "I do not think" - quite the opposite, in fact.